title: Photothermal effects in connective tissues mediated by laser-activated gold nanorods.
abstract: We report a study on the application of laser-activated nanoparticles in the direct welding of connective tissues, which may become a valuable technology in biomedicine. We use colloidal gold nanorods as new near-infrared chromophores to mediate functional photothermal effects in the eye lens capsules. Samples obtained ex vivo from porcine eyes are treated to simulate heterotransplants with 810-nm diode laser radiation in association with a stain of gold nanorods of aspect ratio approximately 4. This stain is applied at the interface between a patch of capsule from a donor eye and the capsule of a recipient eye. Then, by administration of laser pulses of 40 msec and approximately 100-140 J/cm(2), we achieved the local denaturation of the endogenous collagen filaments, which reveals that the treated area reached temperatures above 50 degrees C. The thermal damage is confined within 50-70 mum in a radial distance from the irradiated area.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Fisica Applicata, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.
authors.forename: Fulvio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ratto
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Matteini
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Menabuoni
authors.forename: Neha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tiwari
authors.forename: Sulabha K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kulkarni
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007834:Lasers; D007903:Lens Capsule, Crystalline / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000528:radiation effects; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D006046:Gold; D003094:Collagen