CONFINED PHOTOTHERMAL HEATING OF NANOPARTICLE DISPLAYED BIOMATERIALS

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2021

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Abstract

Controlling the temperature of biological systems has long been utilized as a tool for regulating their subsequent biological activity. Recently, photothermal heating of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has emerged as an efficient and remote method to heat proximal biological materials. Moreover, this technique has tremendous potential for controlling biological systems at the subcellular level, as specific components within the system can be heated while the larger system remains unaffected. The small size, biocompatiblilty, and optical properties of AuNPs make them attractive nanoscale heat sources for controlling biological systems. While the utility of photothermal heating has significantly advanced through the optimization of AuNP size, shape, and composition, the choice of incident light source utilized has largely been unexplored. One of the more interesting excitation sources is a femtosecond (fs) pulsed laser, as the subsequent temperature increase lasts for only a few nanoseconds and is confined to the nanoscale. However, it is not yet clear how biological materials respond to these short-lived and ultra-confined nanoscale spaciotemporal temperature increases. In this dissertation, we utilize fs laser pulse excitation to locally heat biological materials displayed on the surface of AuNPs in order to understand the corresponding heating profiles and, in turn, interpret how this can be used to modulate biological activity. Due to its unique temperature sensitive hybridization properties, we exploit double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA) as our prototypical biological material and demonstrate precise control over the rate of dsDNA denaturation by controlling the laser pulse radiant exposure, dsDNA melting temperature, bulk solution temperature, and the distance between the dsDNA and AuNP surface. The rate of dsDNA denaturation was well fit by a modified DNA dissociation equation from which a “sensed” temperature value could be obtained. Evaluating this sensed temperature in the context of the theoretical temperature profile revealed that the ultra-high temperatures near the AuNP surface play a significant role in denaturation. Additionally, we evaluate this technique as a potential means to enhance enzyme activity and report that enhancement is governed by the laser repetition rate, pulse width, and the enzyme’s inherent turnover number. Overall, we demonstrate that the confined and nanosecond duration temperature increase achievable around AuNPs with fs laser pulse excitation can be used to precisely control biological function and establish important design considerations for coupling this technique to more complex biological systems.

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