an8b00516_si_001.pdf (3.88 MB)
Seeded Growth of Cu2–xSe Nanocrystals and Their Size-Dependent Phototherapeutic Effect
journal contribution
posted on 2018-06-25, 00:00 authored by Xianguang Ding, Dongdong Fu, Ye Kuang, Yu Zou, Xiuzhu Yang, Liangzhu Feng, Xia Sun, Haiyan Wu, Jiang JiangDoped
semiconductors supporting localized surface plasmon resonances,
such as nonstoichiometric copper chalcogenides Cu2–xSe, have been intensively researched for their potential
applications in photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy. For
these self-doped nanoparticles, their physicochemical attributes such
as size and surface chemistry will not only affect their cellular
uptake and biodistribution but also influence their own optical properties.
Thus, optimization of the physicochemical properties is crucial for
their nanobio-applications. Through a seeded growth approach, aqueous
phase synthesis of monodisperse Cu2–xSe with various sizes has been developed for the first time.
Taking three different sized Cu2–xSe NPs (35, 65, and 105 nm in diameter) as examples, their size-dependent
optical cross-section, photothermal property, and cellular cytotoxicity
have been investigated, and the 65 nm one displays the largest optical
cross-section at 21.57 L g–1 cm–1 and best photothermal property per unit mass. In
addition, Cu2–xSe exhibits a size-dependent
reactive oxygen species generation effect that is inversely proportional
to their diameters. Finally, on the basis of optical property and
cytotoxicity optimizations, the photothermal cancer cell ablation
ability and potential use of Cu2–xSe NPs as photoacoustic contrast enhancing agent has been demonstrated
in vivo.