Synthesis, optical properties and photherapy applications of gold nanostars

Phototherapy is a type of medical treatment that involves exposure to ultraviolet-visible (UV–Vis) region or near-infrared (NIR) region light to treat certain medical conditions. Compared to other treatment methods such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, it attracts a lot of attention today due to its lower cost, more effect on the tumor cell, and less side effects. Today's clinical therapy research shows that combining chemotherapeutic methods and phototherapeutic methods on a single nanostructure increases the therapeutic effect that each method alone has, and this is even more effective in destroying cancer cells. The emergence of nanomaterials recently opens up new opportunities to increase therapeutic efficacy and overcome limitations in current phototherapy techniques. Gold nanostars (GNSs) are a kind of promising photothermal agent recently in the biomedical field with its strong absorption in the NIR field, high photothermal conversion efficiency, excellent photothermal stability, and biocompatibility. In this study, the synthesis methods, optical properties of GNSs, and their current studies on cancer diagnosis and treatments are summarized.