Pulsed laser damage of gold nanorods in turbid media and its impact on multi-spectral photoacoustic imaging.

Innovative biophotonic modalities such as photoacoustic imaging (PAI) have the potential to provide enhanced sensitivity and molecule-specific detection when used with nanoparticles. However, high peak irradiance levels generated by pulsed lasers can lead to modification of plasmonic nanoparticles. Thus, there is an outstanding need to develop practical methods to effectively predict the onset nanoparticle photomodification as well as a need to better understand the process during PAI. To address this need, we studied pulsed laser damage of gold nanorods (GNRs) using turbid phantoms and a multi-spectral near-infrared PAI system, comparing results with spectrophotometric measurements of non-scattering samples. Transmission electron microscopy and Monte Carlo modeling were also performed to elucidate damage processes. In the phantoms, shifts in PAI-detected spectra indicative of GNR damage were initiated at exposure levels one-third of that seen in non-scattering samples, due to turbidity-induced enhancement of subsurface fluence. For exposures approaching established safety limits, damage was detected at depths of up to 12.5 mm. Typically, GNR damage occurred rapidly, over the course of a few laser pulses. This work advances the development of test methods and numerical models as tools for assessment of nanoparticle damage and its implications, and highlights the importance of considering GNR damage in development of PAI products, even for exposures well below laser safety limits.