Enhanced Nanobubble Formation: Gold Nanoparticle Conjugation to Qβ Virus-like Particles

Abstract

Plasmonic gold nanostructures are a prevalent tool in modern hypersensitive analytical techniques such as photoablation, bioimaging, and biosensing. Recent studies have shown that gold nanostructures generate transient nanobubbles through localized heating and have been found in various biomedical applications. However, the current method of plasmonic nanoparticle cavitation events has several disadvantages, specifically including small metal nanostructures (≤10 nm) which lack size control, tuneability, and tissue localization by use of ultrashort pulses (ns, ps) and high-energy lasers which can result in tissue and cellular damage. This research investigates a method to immobilize sub-10 nm AuNPs (3.5 and 5 nm) onto a chemically modified thiol-rich surface of Qβ virus-like particles. These findings demonstrate that the multivalent display of sub-10 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) caused a profound and disproportionate increase in photocavitation by upward of 5−7-fold and significantly lowered the laser fluency by 4-fold when compared to individual sub-10 nm AuNPs. Furthermore, computational modeling showed that the cooling time of QβAuNP scaffolds is significantly extended than that of individual AuNPs, proving greater control of laser fluency and nanobubble generation as seen in the experimental data. Ultimately, these findings showed how QβAuNP composites are more effective at nanobubble generation than current methods of plasmonic nanoparticle cavitation.

Developing tiny-sized particles, different modification behaviors of gold atoms, and nucleating distorted particles

“…A gold nanoparticle-based composite shows more effectiveness at nanobubble generation than the current methods of plasmonic nanoparticle cavitation. 47 A mechanism of the antibacterial activity of Co 3 O 4 and polypyrrole nanocomposites was proposed. 48 The development of metal nanoparticles encapsulated with polypyrrole plastic nanocomposites was reviewed.…”

TEMPO-conjugated tobacco mosaic virus as a magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent for detection of superoxide production in the inflamed liver

“…The development of ''smart'' contrast agents for MRI has been an ongoing area of active research for several decades. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Recent advances, for instance, have shown the ability to report concentrations of metals like Ca 2+ and Zn 2+ in deep tissue. 25,26 These probes are particularly valuable as they provide a minimally invasive approach to real-time analyses of metabolic processes within the body.…”

Self-assembly of a fluorescent virus-like particle for imaging in tissues with high autofluorescence

“…12,13 Their biocompatibility and easy chemical and genetic modification have made them useful in drug delivery, enhancing vaccine efficacy, [14][15][16][17] gene delivery, [18][19][20] and cancer immunotherapy. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27] One such representative VLP is Qb, derived from a bacteriophage in the Leviviridae family. The VLP forms an icosahedral capsid comprising 180 identical coat protein (CP) subunits.…”

“…12,13 Their biocompatibility and easy chemical and genetic modification have made them useful in drug delivery, enhancing vaccine efficacy, 14–17 gene delivery, 18–20 and cancer immunotherapy. 21–27…”