This paper presents an in vitro study in photoacoustic evaluation of laser controlled drug release by using gold nanostructure agents. Laser controlled drug release has been studied and reported by using high intensity nanosecond laser source and optical absorbing gold nanostructures. With the same nanosecond laser source in low intensity, photoacoustic imaging technique can be employed to evaluate the laser controlled drug release, which makes it promising to combine low energy photoacoustic imaging/evaluation with high energy laser controlled drug delivery in a non-radiation, low cost and minimum modified theranostic platform. As an effort to test the feasibility, gold nanoparticles and gold nanorods which have strong absorption of laser specifically in 531 nm and 808nm to trig the drug release in carriers were evaluated in high energy laser treatment and low energy photoacoustic imaging. 20%-50% drop of the intensity in the photoacoustic images has been observed in gold nanoparticles solutions and gold nanorods solutions, after being treated by high energy laser. This study suggests that it is possible to evaluate the high energy laser controlled drug release with low energy photoacoustic imaging method in a non-complex theranostic platform.

Date Published: 4 March 2013
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 8581, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2013, 85813F (4 March 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2004662

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8581:
Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2013
Alexander A. Oraevsky; Lihong V. Wang, Editor(s)