Optical Theranostics Based on Gold Nanoparticles

To obtain more detailed images of cellular processes or other nanoscale information in the fields of biology and medicine, or to improve phototherapy of cancer, various nanoparticles have emerged as optical probes, contrast agents, or optical absorbing agents. Among different nanoparticles, gold nanoparticle has obtained great attention and application in biomedical fields, such as optoporation, photo imaging, photodiagnosis, and phototherapy, due to their unique tunable optical, surface plasmon resonance, and photothermal features. In this chapter, the general physical mechanism of thermoplasmonic effects of gold nanoparticles was introduced, and the gold nanoparticles enhanced optical imaging, detection, and phototherapy of tumors was summarized.