A facile approach to the synthesis of gold nanoshells with near infrared responsive properties

A very detailed study of the most important parameters that involved in the preparation of gold nanoshells with near infrared (NIR) absorption properties is reported. The importance of this work lies in the deep understanding of how each parameter contributes to the formation of gold nanoshells in terms of size, shell thickness, optical property and particle stability, which have not been emphasized in the literatures. Through detailed characterization by UV-Vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, a facile approach to synthesize nanoshells with optimal optical properties in the NIR region was obtained. The amount of reagents, the ratio and condition of reagents, the reaction time, all played important roles in the formation of stable, narrow-size distributed gold nanoshells with NIR absorption properties, which have significant applications to photothermal therapy of cancers in biomedical area.