Temperature-Responsive Hydrogel-Coated Gold Nanoshells

Thermo-Responsive Hydrogel-Coated Gold Nanoshells for In Vivo Drug Delivery

This paper describes the preparation and characterization of a new type of composite nanoparticle, where the structure consists of a nontoxic hydrogel polymer network that encapsulates a gold shell/silica core. These composite nanoparticles are being developed as photothermally responsive drug-delivery vehicles that undergo structural changes slightly above physiological temperature. A unique p...

Hydrogel-Coated Near Infrared Absorbing Nanoshells as Light-Responsive Drug Delivery Vehicles

Nanoparticle drug delivery carriers that can modulate drug release based on an exogenous signal, such as light, are of great interest, especially for improving cancer therapy. A light-activated delivery vehicle was fabricated by synthesizing a thin, thermally responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) hydrogel coating directly onto the surfaces of individual near-infrared (NIR) absorb...

Thermo- and pH-responsive hydrogel-coated gold nanoparticles prepared from rationally designed surface-confined initiators

Gold nanoparticles (*40 nm in diameter) were encapsulated by a hydrogel overlayer generated by the free radical polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid (NIPAM-co-AA), which was promoted by a specifically designed radical initiator covalently anchored to the surface of the gold core. The size and morphology of the shell/core nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron m...

Discrete thermally responsive hydrogel-coated gold nanoparticles for use as drug-delivery vehicles

This report describes the development of optically responsive gold nanoparticles ( 60 nm in diameter) coated with a thermally responsive biocompatible hydrogel overlayer (20–90 nm thick). The hydrogel consists of a mixture of N-isoproprylacrylamide and acrylic acid; this copolymer can be tailored to exhibit a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) slightly above physiological temperature. W...

Gold Nanoshells in Biomedical Applications