CONSPECTUS Gold nanostructures have garnered considerable attention in recent years for their potential to enhance both the diagnosis and treatment of cancer through their advantageous chemical and physical properties. The key feature of Au nanostructures for enabling this diverse array of biomedical applications is their attractive optical properties, i.e. the scattering and absorption of light at resonant wavelengths due to the excitation of plasmon oscillations. This phenomenon is commonly known as localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and is the source of the ruby red color of conventional Au colloids. The resonant wavelength is highly dependent on the size, shape, and geometry of the nanostructures, providing a set of knobs to maneuver the optical properties as needed. For in vivo applications, especially when optical excitation or transduction is involved, the LSPR peaks of the Au nanostructures have to be tuned to the transparent window of soft tissues in the near-infrared (NIR) region (from 700–900 nm) in order to maximize the penetration depth. One class of nanostructures with tunable LSPR peaks in the NIR region is Au nanocages. These versatile nanostructures are characterized by hollow interiors, ultrathin and porous walls, and can be prepared in relatively large quantities using a remarkably simple procedure based on the galvanic replacement between Ag nanocubes and aqueous chloroauric acid. The LSPR peaks of Au nanocages can be readily and precisely tuned to any wavelength in the NIR region by controlling their size and/or wall thickness. Other significant features of Au nanocages that make them particularly intriguing materials for biomedical applications include their compact sizes, large absorption cross sections (almost five orders of magnitude greater than those of conventional organic dyes), bio-inertness, as well as a robust and straightforward procedure for surface modification based on the Au-thiolate chemistry. In this article, we present some of the most recent advances in the use of Au nanocages for a broad range of theranostic applications, including their use: i) as tracers for tracking by multi-photon luminescence; ii) as contrast agents for photoacoustic (PA) and mutimodal (PA/fluorescence) imaging; iii) as photothermal agents for the selective destruction of cancerous or diseased tissue; and iv) as drug delivery vehicles for controlled and localized release in response to external stimuli such as NIR radiation or high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).

Gold nanocages have recently emerged as a novel class of photothermal transducers and drug carriers for cancer treatment. However, their pharmacokinetics and tumor targeting capability remain to be largely unexplored due to the lack of an imaging modality for quick and reliable mapping of their distributions in vivo. Herein, Au nanocages were prepared with controlled physicochemical properties and radiolabeled with 64Cu in high specific activities for in vivo evaluation using positron emission tomography (PET). Our pharmacokinetic studies with femtomolar administrations suggest that nanocages of 30 nm in size had a greatly improved biodistribution profile than nanocages of 55 nm in size, together with higher blood retention and lower hepatic and splenic uptakes. In a murine EMT-6 breast cancer model, the small cages also showed a significantly higher level of tumor uptake and a greater tumor-to-muscle ratio than the large cages. Quantitative PET imaging confirmed rapid accumulation and retention of Au nanocages inside the tumors. The ability to directly and quickly image the distribution of Au nanocages in vivo allows us to further optimize their physicochemical properties for a range of theranostic applications.

The unique photophysical properties of noble metal nanoparticles contribute to their potential as photoactivated drug delivery vectors. Here we demonstrate the synthesis and characterization of 60-80 nm silver nanoparticles (SNPs) decorated with thiol-terminated photolabile DNA oligonucleotides. In vitro assays and fluorescent confocal microscopy of treated cell cultures show efficient UV-wavelength photoactivation of surface-tethered caged ISIS2302 antisense oligonucleotides possessing internal photocleavable linkers. As a demonstration of the advantages of these novel nanocarriers, we investigate properties including: enhanced stability to nucleases, increased hybridization activity upon photorelease, and efficient cellular uptake as compared to commercial transfection vectors. Their potential as multicomponent delivery agents for oligonucleotide therapeutics is shown through regulation of ICAM-1 (Intracellular Adhesion Molecule-1) silencing. Our results suggest a means to achieve light-triggered, spatiotemporally controlled gene silencing via nontoxic silver nanocarriers, which hold promise as tailorable platforms for nanomedicine, gene expression studies, and genetic therapies.

Gold nanoparticles with tunable absorption and scattering properties have been developed as contrast agents for various optical imaging techniques. As a hybrid modality that combines the merits of both optical and ultrasonic imaging, photoacoustic (PA) imaging also benefits from the use of these nanoparticles to greatly enhance the contrast for visualization of structures and biomarkers in biological tissues. Gold nanocages characterized by hollow interiors, ultrathin and porous walls are of particular interest for in vivo PA imaging because of their compact sizes, bio-inertness and well-defined surface chemistry, as well as their strong and highly wavelength-tunable optical absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) optical window of soft tissues. This review discusses the application of gold nanocages as a new class of contrast agents for PA imaging in the context of cancer diagnosis.

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