T98G Cell Death Induced by Photothermal Treatment with Hollow Gold Nanoshell-Coupled Silica Microrods Prepared from Escherichia Coli.

As an alternative to traditional cancer treatment, photothermal therapy is a promising method with advantages such as non-invasiveness and high efficiency. Herein, we synthesized armored golden Escherichia coli (AGE) microrods as photothermal agents to evaluate the viability of cancer cell. The hollow gold nanoshell (HAuNS) was synthesized for photothermal effects under near infrared (NIR) region using unicellular E. coli as framework. Coupling HAuNS onto the surface of E. coli@SiO2 enhanced temperature elevation and resulted in high conversion efficiency. The synthesized AGE microrods had excellent photothermal stability under NIR laser irradiation in the five times recycling experiment. The temperature elevation of AGE microrod solution reached 43.7 C, which induced hyperthermia-mediated killing of tumor cells. The results of cytotoxicity test revealed the AGE microrod-induced T98G cell death mediated via apoptosis.