Synergistic Enhancement of Bacterial Killing by Plasmonic Heating of Au@Ag Nanorods

摘要

We described the formation of multifunctional antibacterial agents containing a gold NR core, silver shell, and surface bound antibacterial antibodies. The antibodies led to the targeting of the NRs to both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial cells. The strong light absorption due to the SPR from the metal NRs caused release of substantial amounts of heat that was used for bacterial cell-directed photothermal therapy. Importantly, the antibacterial effect was significantly enhanced when plasmonic heating was combined with a silver shell, a combination that provided the strongest therapeutic response for both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.