Gold nanorods: Contrast agents for photoacoustic imaging?

Gold nanorods are seen as possible contrast agents for photoacoustic imaging since they have strong absorption peaks at near-infrared wavelengths. Also they are easy to conjugate with various proteins. If these particles can be conjugated with cancer affinity proteins then these particles can accumulate specifically at a tumor site. By detecting the presence of accumulation of gold nanorods inside the tissue the indirect detection of tumor can be realized. When these particles are irradiated with light pulses of appropriate temporal properties and energy the temperature around these particles can be high enough to induce apoptosis or necrosis in the surrounding cells. In order to use these particles at their full potential we must determine precisely their optical properties. We simulated the optical properties of gold nanorods synthesized by us using the DDSCAT code. The simulated spectra agree qualitatively with the spectra determined using spectrometry and also determined using photoacoustic spectroscopy. Further the values of molar extinction coefficient derived from the simulations were similar to the data measured experimentally by other groups. These results validated qualitatively the model used in the simulations. During simulations we found that the choice of the dielectric function used in simulations plays an important role in the results.