Environment-dependent generation of photoacoustic waves from plasmonic nanoparticles.

ABSTRACT: Nanoparticle-augmented photoacoustics is an emerging technique for molecular imaging. This study investigates the fundamental process of the photoacoustic signal generation by plasmonic nanoparticles suspended in a weakly absorbing fluid. The photoacoustic signal of gold nanospheres with varying silica shell thicknesses is shown to be dominated by the heat transfer between the nanoparticles and the surrounding environment.

SUBMITTER: Chen YS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3498448 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature