title: Single-step injection of gold nanoparticles through phospholipid membranes.
abstract: We propose and demonstrate a new method of an all-optical, contactless, one-step injection of single gold nanoparticles through phospholipid membranes. The method is based on the combination of strong optical forces acting on and simultaneous optical heating of a gold nanoparticle exposed to laser light tuned to the plasmon resonance of the nanoparticle. A focused laser beam captures single nanoparticles from the colloidal suspension, guides them toward a phospholipid vesicle and propels them through the gel-phase membrane, resulting in the nanoparticle internalization into the vesicle. Efficient resonant optical heating of the gold nanoparticle causes a pore to form in the gel-phase membrane, a few-hundred nanometers in size, which remains open for several minutes.
authors.affiliation: Photonics and Optoelectronics Group, Physics Department and CeNS, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Amalienstrasse 54, 80799 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Urban
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fedoruk
authors.forename: Andrey A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lutich
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Feldmann
mesh_terms: D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000379:methods*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D052898:Optical Tweezers; D010316:Particle Size; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D010743:Phospholipids; D006046:Gold