Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Introduction to Cancer Therapy and Detection by Plasmonic Nanoparticles

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Computational Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology

Abstract

The advancement of research in the areas of cellular biology and nanotechnology creates new opportunities for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The emergence of molecular targeting allows for the selective delivery of pharmaceutical or nanoparticle payloads to localized areas, while nanoparticle research offers more and more ways to engineer the physical properties of these payloads. This chapter introduces the surface plasmon resonance phenomenon and the use of plasmonic nanoparticles in diagnosis and cancer therapy. One of the therapies, called nanophotothermolysis, utilizes molecular targeting to deliver nanoparticles to the localized area, and then uses the plasmon absorption properties of the nanoparticles to generate heat in the targeted region. We discuss here the new dynamic modes in selective nanophotothermolysis of cancer, the design and methods of activation of the nanodrugs selectively delivered to the tumor site, and the plasmon resonance detection techniques using fiber optics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. R.R. Letfullin, T.F. George, Plasmonic nanomaterials in nanomedicine, in Springer Handbook of Nanomaterials, ed. by R. Vajtai (Springer, Berlin, 2013), pp. 1063–1097

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  2. R.R. Letfullin, T.F. George, Nanomaterials in nanomedicine, in Computational Studies of New Materials II: From Ultrafast Processes and Nanostructures to Optoelectronics, Energy Storage and Nanomedicine, ed. by T.F. George, D. Jelski, R.R. Letfullin, G.P. Zhang (World Scientific, Singapore, 2011), pp. 103–129

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  3. R.R. Letfullin, C.B. Iversen, T.F. George, Modeling nanophotothermal therapy: Kinetics of thermal ablation of healthy and cancerous cell organelles and gold nanoparticles. Nanomed. Nanotechnol. Biol. Med. 7, 137–145 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  4. R.R. Letfullin, T.F. George, Laser ablation of biological tissue by short and ultrashort pulses, in Computational Studies of New Materials II: From Ultrafast Processes and Nanostructures to Optoelectronics, Energy Storage and Nanomedicine, ed. by T.F. George, D. Jelski, R.R. Letfullin, G.P. Zhang (World Scientific, Singapore, 2011), pp. 191–218

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. R.R. Letfullin, C.E.W. Rice, T.F. George, X-ray optics of gold nanoparticles. Appl. Opt. 53, 7208–7214 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. R.R. Letfullin, A.R. Letfullin, T.F. George, Absorption efficiency and heating kinetics of nanoparticles in the RF range for selective nanotherapy of cancer. Nanomed. Nanotechnol. Biol. Med. 11, 413–420 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  7. R.R. Letfullin, C.B. Iversen, T.F. George, Modeling nanophotothermal therapy: Kinetics of thermal ablation of healthy and cancerous cell organelles and gold nanoparticles. Nanomed. Nanotechnol. Biol. Med. 7, 137–145 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  8. http://web.mit.edu/ytc/www/HLMA/report.pdf

  9. A. Leung, P.M. Shankar, R. Mutharasan, A review of fiber-optic biosensors. Sens. Actuator. B 125, 688–703 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. T. Dar, J. Homola, B.M.A. Rahman, M. Rajarajan, Label-free slot-waveguide biosensor for the detection of DNA hybridization. Appl. Opt. 51, 8195–8202 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. V.P. Zharov, R.R. Letfullin, E.N. Galitovskaya, Microbubbles-overlapping mode for laser killing of cancer cells with absorbing nanoparticle clusters. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 38, 2571–2581 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN, USA

    Renat R. Letfullin

  2. University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Thomas F. George

Authors
  1. Renat R. Letfullin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thomas F. George
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

3.1 Electronic Supplementary Material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

(PPTX 1711 kb)

(PPTX 928 kb)

(PPTX 1319 kb)

Appendices

Homework Exercises

  1. 3.1.

    What are three conventional cancer treatments?

  2. 3.2.

    What are advantages and disadvantages of the surgical removal?

  3. 3.3.

    Describe a radiation therapy.

  4. 3.4.

    True or false? The radiation therapy is most effective in mitosis events.

  5. 3.5.

    Select one or more. The radiation therapy uses:

    1. (a)

      Shaped radiation beams

    2. (b)

      Multiple beams

    3. (c)

      Photothermolysis

    4. (d)

      Ultrasound

    5. (e)

      Radioactive materials

    6. (f)

      RF waves

    7. (g)

      All of the above

    8. (h)

      None of the above

  6. 3.6.

    What is a downside of radiation therapy?

  7. 3.7.

    How does chemotherapy work?

  8. 3.8.

    True or false? Chemotherapy prevents mitosis of the cells.

  9. 3.9.

    What are advantages and disadvantages of chemotherapy?

  10. 3.10.

    How does nanotherapy work?

  11. 3.11.

    True or false? Nanoparticles alone can cause cellular damage.

  12. 3.12.

    Select one or more. Nanophotothermolysis is selective thermal killing of cancer cells by:

    1. (a)

      Surgery

    2. (b)

      Nanoprticle activation

    3. (c)

      Chemotherapy

    4. (d)

      Radiation

    5. (e)

      All of the above

    6. (f)

      None of the above

  13. 3.13.

    List the nanoparticles administration techniques.

  14. 3.14.

    What is direct microinjection? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this technique?

  15. 3.15.

    What is transdermal delivery? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this technique?

  16. 3.16.

    What is the physiological transport technique? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this technique?

  17. 3.17.

    What is the conjugation to antibodies technique?

  18. 3.18.

    Select one or more. Mechanisms of cell killing include:

    1. (a)

      Thermal ablation

    2. (b)

      Bubbles formation

    3. (c)

      Sound generation

    4. (d)

      Shock waves

    5. (e)

      Explosive evaporation

    6. (f)

      All of the above

    7. (g)

      None of the above

  19. 3.19.

    What is the definition of selective nanophotothermolysis?

  20. 3.20.

    Select one or more. The theory of selective nanophotothermolysis includes:

    1. (a)

      Nanoparticle optics

    2. (b)

      Heat-mass transfer

    3. (c)

      Cell ablation

    4. (d)

      Microbubble dynamics

    5. (e)

      Cluster aggregation

    6. (f)

      Thermal explosion

    7. (g)

      Shock wave generation

    8. (h)

      Sound generation

    9. (i)

      All of the above

    10. (j)

      None of the above

  21. 3.21.

    What are three main dynamic modes of selective nanophotothermolysis?

  22. 3.22.

    What is the cluster aggregation mode? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this mode?

  23. 3.23.

    True or false? The cluster aggregation mode provides small thermal damage area in a cell.

  24. 3.24.

    What is the nanobubble overlapping mode? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this mode?

  25. 3.25.

    True or false? The nanobubble overlapping mode can be used for therapy of dense solid tumors, bones and other targets with a lack of sufficient liquid.

  26. 3.26.

    What are the therapeutic effects of the nanobubble overlapping mode?

  27. 3.27.

    Select one or more. The particle evaporation modes are as follows:

    1. (a)

      Free molecular

    2. (b)

      Diffusion

    3. (c)

      Gas dynamic

    4. (d)

      Explosive

    5. (e)

      All of the above

    6. (f)

      None of the above

  28. 3.28.

    What is the thermal explosion mode? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this mode?

  29. 3.29.

    When is the thermal explosion mode realized?

  30. 3.30.

    Select one or more. “Nanobombs” are accompanied by:

    1. (a)

      Stress transients waves

    2. (b)

      Sound waves

    3. (c)

      Shock waves

    4. (d)

      Fragments of explosion

    5. (e)

      Denaturation and coagulation

    6. (f)

      All of the above

    7. (g)

      None of the above

  31. 3.31.

    What are the therapeutic effects of “nanobombs?”

  32. 3.32.

    How can nanodrugs/nanoparticles be activated?

  33. 3.33.

    Select one or more. The nanoparticle activation include:

    1. (a)

      Heating of nanoparticles

    2. (b)

      Photoelectron emission

    3. (c)

      Compton scattering,

    4. (d)

      Explosion of nanoparticles

    5. (e)

      Generation of shock waves

    6. (f)

      Sound waves

    7. (g)

      Mechanical waves of high pressure

    8. (h)

      Nanobubble formation

    9. (i)

      All of the above

    10. (j)

      None of the above

  34. 3.34.

    True or false. Nanodrug design includes the morphological properties of nanoparticles.

  35. 3.35.

    True or false. Nanodrug design depends on the methods of activation.

  36. 3.36.

    What nanoparticles are used for the activation by radiation in the optical range of the spectrum?

  37. 3.37.

    What nanoparticles are used for activation by a magnetic field?

  38. 3.38.

    What nanoparticles are used for activation by X-ray radiation?

  39. 3.39.

    What are the characteristics of the ideal radiation for nanoparticle activation?

  40. 3.40.

    Select one or more. The radiation delivery techniques include:

    1. (a)

      Microinjection

    2. (b)

      Physiological transport

    3. (c)

      Transdermal delivery

    4. (d)

      Conjugation to antibodies

    5. (e)

      All of the above

    6. (f)

      None of the above

  41. 3.41.

    What are the therapeutic effects of nanoparticles activated by X-ray radiation?

  42. 3.42.

    What are the advantages and disadvantages of X-ray activation of nanoparticles?

  43. 3.43.

    True or false? In the direct action, charged particles react with water contained in the cell medium producing hydroxyl radicals which are toxic for DNA of cancer cells.

  44. 3.44.

    What is the optical range of the spectrum?

  45. 3.45.

    What is the penetration depth of different types of lasers into soft tissue?

  46. 3.46.

    What limits the penetration depth of optical radiation into biological tissue?

  47. 3.47.

    What is the window of transparency of biological tissue?

  48. 3.48.

    What are the advantages and disadvantages of using optical fibers for laser radiation delivery?

  49. 3.49.

    What are the advantages and disadvantages of using microwaves for tissue ablation?

  50. 3.50.

    What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a magnetic field and ultrasound for nanoparticle activation?

  51. 3.51.

    What are the advantages and disadvantages of using RF waves for nanoparticle activation?

  52. 3.52.

    What is an optical fiber?

  53. 3.53.

    What are the applications of the optical fibers?

  54. 3.54.

    What are the advantages of using optical fibers?

  55. 3.55.

    What are the fundamental principles of an optical fiber?

  56. 3.56.

    Describe Fermat’s principle.

  57. 3.57.

    Describe Snell’s law of refraction.

  58. 3.58.

    What is a total internal reflection?

  59. 3.59.

    What is a critical angle?

  60. 3.60.

    What is an evanescent field?

  61. 3.61.

    How is the penetration depth of evanescent waves defined?

  62. 3.62.

    How does the fiber optic sensing operate?

  63. 3.63.

    How is a sensing core of an fiber biosensor made?

  64. 3.64.

    What sources of light are typically used for fiber biosensors?

  65. 3.65.

    Why are enzymes are used in fiber optics biosensors?

  66. 3.66.

    What are the applications of optical fibers in medicine?

  67. 3.67.

    How are optical fibers used in endoscopy?

  68. 3.68.

    How does an optical fiber measure blood flow?

  69. 3.69.

    What is a surface plasmon resonance?

  70. 3.70.

    What is a plasmon?

  71. 3.71.

    What is a surface plasmon polariton?

  72. 3.72.

    True or false? A surface plasmon resonance can be initiated in any nanoparticle or nanofilm.

  73. 3.73.

    How are surface plasmons and polaritons induced?

  74. 3.74.

    True or false? A surface plasmon resonance is induced in a dielectric nanofilm by any radiation.

  75. 3.75.

    What main conditions must be satisfied to induce the surface plasmons?

  76. 3.76.

    How does a SPR fiber biosensor operate?

  77. 3.77.

    True or false? In a SPR fiber biosensor, a section of the cladding is removed and replaced with the dielectric nanofilm.

  78. 3.78.

    What is a sensing layer in a SPR fiber biosensor? How it is made?

  79. 3.79.

    How does an analyte bind to a sensing layer?

  80. 3.80.

    True or false? Each SPR fiber sensor depends on the specificity of its function of detection of a particular analyte.

  81. 3.81.

    Give examples of the usage of SPR fiber biosensors.

Topics for Presentations and Writing Assignments

  • Presentation #1. Methods and Tools for Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis in Conventional Medicine.

  • Presentation #2. Nanotechnology for Biophotonics: Bionanophotonics.

  • Presentation #3. Laser Ablation of Biological Tissues and Laser Surgery.

  • Presentation #4. Optics-Based Clinical Applications: Fiber Optics and Fiber Optics Biosensors.

  • Presentation #5. Nanoparticle-Enhanced X-Ray Therapy for Cancer.

  • Presentation #6. RF Activation of Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Letfullin, R.R., George, T.F. (2016). Introduction to Cancer Therapy and Detection by Plasmonic Nanoparticles. In: Computational Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43577-0_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43577-0_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-43575-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-43577-0

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation