Gold nanoparticles for physics and bio-medicine applications

Gold nanoparticles were prepared by laser ablation in water and then characterized through physical analyses, in the perspective to be employed for different applications in the fields of Physics and Bio-Medicine. Different parameters have to be taken into account, such as the surface wetting ability, the possibility to improve the contrast image in microscopic and macroscopic systems and the enhancement of deposited dose by radiotherapy and thermal therapy treatments. The presence of a high-Z element, in fact, allows to modify the chemical and physical properties of materials and to release energy from ionizing radiation or from light absorption in the matter in which Au nanoparticles are embedded. These factors enhance the energy released to diseased tissues increasing the radiation effects in cells, for instance, the DNA of cancer cells can be destroyed with more efficiency due to the higher released dose inside the cell.