Gold nanoparticles dextran-functionalized

The branched polysaccharide dextran is assembled with alkanethiol-modified gold nanoparticles and the resulting nanocomposite is then functionalized to facilitate the specific binding of target biomolecules. This biorecognition process can be easily detected by particle plasmon resonance (PPR), based on the optical properties of gold nanoparticles [163]. 

An important feature is film activation with micrometer precision by external stimulation with biofriendly near-IR light, which results in controlled release of film-embedded material [98,100], Laser activation of film-supported microcapsules shows remote release of encapsulated dextran by selective stimulation of the capsules with near-IR light (Fig. 6). Destruction of the HA/PLL film functionalized with gold nanoparticles occurs at irradiation with a light power of over 20 mW. Microcapsules modified with nanoparticles keep their integrity under the same conditions but become more permeable. 

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