Gold Nanostars Coated with Mesoporous Silica Are Effective and Nontoxic Photothermal Agents Capable of Gate Keeping and Laser-Induced Drug Release

Herein, a novel drug photorelease system based on gold nanostars (AuNSts), coated with a mesoporous silica shell and capped with paraffin as thermosensitive molecular gate, is reported. Direct measurements of the surface temperature of a single gold nanostar irradiated using a tightly focused laser beam are performed via a heat-sensitive biological matrix. The surface temperature of a AuNSt increases by hundreds of degrees (°C) even at low laser...