ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2012 Apr;4(4):1872-7. doi: 10.1021/am300198v. Epub 2012 Apr 3.
Gold nanorods (GNRs) have the potential to be used as imaging and hyperthermia agents for cancer theranostics. Clinical applications of as-synthesized GNRs (i.e., cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-coated GNRs) are currently limited by their cytotoxicity and insufficient colloidal stability. With an aim to address these problems, we developed a self-assembly processing technique for encapsulating GNRs in poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PEO-PnBA) block copolymer (BCP) micelles. This technique uses simple steps of solvent exchange processes, based on the known principles of block copolymer self-assembly. The resultant BCP-encapsulated GNRs were found to be stable against aggregation under physiological salt conditions for indefinite periods of time, which has rarely previously been achieved by other means of encapsulation.
金纳米棒（GNRs）有望成为癌症诊治学的成像和热疗试剂。目前，临床应用的合成 GNRs（即十六烷基三甲基溴化铵（CTAB）包覆的 GNRs）受到细胞毒性和胶体稳定性不足的限制。为了解决这些问题，我们开发了一种自组装处理技术，用于将 GNRs 封装在聚（环氧乙烷）-聚（正丁基丙烯酸酯）（PEO-PnBA）嵌段共聚物（BCP）胶束中。该技术使用溶剂交换过程的简单步骤，基于众所周知的嵌段共聚物自组装原理。结果表明，在生理盐条件下，封装后的 BCP-GNRs 能够稳定地防止聚集，这在以前很少通过其他封装方法实现。
