Insight into Sonodynamic Activities of Gold Nanoparticles with Different Morphologies

Abstract The sonodynamic activities of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with different morphologies, gold nanospheres (GNSs), gold nanoflowers (GNFs) and gold nanorods (GNRs), were explored by multi‐spectroscopic methods, in which the lesion degree of human serum albumin (HSA) was used as assessment index. The results revealed that three GNPs all had certain sonosensitivity but varying from different morphologies. It was also found that GNPs concentration and ultrasonic parameters were all critical influencing factors of sonodynamic injury HSA. Investigating the physical damage mechanism, the results indicated that the secondary and tertiary structure of HSA were compromised by ultrasound (US) combined with GNPs, so that the conformation of HSA was altered and the function was variously disturbed due to GNPs different morphologies. Studying the chemical damage mechanism, the results discovered that the yield of singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) produced by GNPs with various morphologies combined with US was significant difference. Therefore, comprehensively analyzing the research results under different factors, the order of sonodynamic activities of GNPs was GNSs≈GNFs>GNRs. These findings may provide reference for the application of GNPs as sonosensitizers in sonodynamic therapy.