Photophysical Properties of Hybrid Nanoparticles Based on Water-Soluble Porphyrin, Gold Core, and Polymer Shell

Abstract

Hybrid nanostructures have found wide application in various fields of science, medicine, industry, etc. due to the unique possibilities of controlling their functional properties by combining the properties of components or as a result of a synergistic effect. In this work, hybrid core-shell nanoparticles based on gold spherical cores and a polymer shell with controlled thickness were synthesized. Metallic nanoparticles were obtained by laser ablation in water, which allows obtaining nanoparticles with the highest chemical purity. The shell was formed layer by layer using polymers in cationic and anionic forms, which allows for precise control of its thickness. A water-soluble porphyrin was electrostatically attached to the polymer shell and used in the molecular plasmonic hybrid as a photo-excitable agent. The photophysical properties of the obtained hybrid nanostructures were investigated. The effect of enhancing the photoluminescence of porphyrin by 16 times due to the plasmonic core with a shell thickness of 1.5 nm was obtained. The influence of the polymer shell thickness on the efficiency of photoinitiated generation of singlet oxygen forms was established. The using of hybrid molecular-plasmonic nanostructures as luminescent thermometers was assessed.