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Enhanced Photoacoustic Response by Synergistic Ag–Melanin Interplay at the Core of Ternary Biocompatible Hybrid Silica-Based Nanoparticles

[Image: see text] Photoacoustics (PA) is gaining increasing credit among biomolecular imaging methodologies by virtue of its poor invasiveness, deep penetration, high spatial resolution, and excellent endogenous contrast, without the use of any ionizing radiation. Recently, we disclosed the excellen...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Silvestri, Brigida, Armanetti, Paolo, Pota, Giulio, Vitiello, Giuseppe, Pezzella, Alessandro, Menichetti, Luca, Giannini, Vincenzo, Luciani, Giuseppina
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Chemical Society 2023
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10571004/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37774145
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c13523
Descripción
Sumario:[Image: see text] Photoacoustics (PA) is gaining increasing credit among biomolecular imaging methodologies by virtue of its poor invasiveness, deep penetration, high spatial resolution, and excellent endogenous contrast, without the use of any ionizing radiation. Recently, we disclosed the excellent PA response of a self-structured biocompatible nanoprobe, consisting of ternary hybrid nanoparticles with a silver core and a melanin component embedded into a silica matrix. Although preliminary evidence suggested a crucial role of the Ag sonophore and the melanin-containing nanoenvironment, whether and in what manner the PA response is controlled and affected by the self-structured hybrid nanosystems remained unclear. Because of their potential as multifunctional platforms for biomedical applications, a detailed investigation of the metal–polymer–matrix interplay underlying the PA response was undertaken to understand the physical and chemical factors determining the enhanced response and to optimize the architecture, composition, and performance of the nanoparticles for efficient imaging applications. Herein, we provide the evidence for a strong synergistic interaction between eumelanin and Ag which suggests an important role in the in situ-generated metal–organic interface. In particular, we show that a strict ratio between melanin and silver precursors and an accurate choice of metal nanoparticle dimension and the kind of metal are essential for achieving strong enhancements of the PA response. Systematic variation of the metal/melanin component is thus shown to offer the means of tuning the stability and intensity of the photoacoustic response for various biomedical and theranostic applications.