Photothermal and dissolution properties of germanium nanoparticles for biomedical applications
A. Kanavin1'2*, A. Fronya12, D. Donchenko2, E. Mavreshko12, I. Tupitsyn1, M. Grigoryeva12, I. Zavestovskaya13
1-P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 53 Leninskiy Prospekt, Moscow 199991,
Russian Federation
2- National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), 31 Kashirskoe
shosse, Moscow 115409, Russian Federation 3- National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", 1 Academician Kurchatov Square, Moscow 123182, Russian
Federation
* kanavinap@lebedev.ru
Currently, medicine is actively developing the direction of creating biodegradable nano-sized devices that can act inside the human body as temporary diagnostic and therapeutic platforms [1]. For this purpose, biodegradable materials are being sought. From the point of view of medical applications, it is essential to be able to control the time and rate of dissolution of the material in order to ensure maximum diagnostic and therapeutic effect. One of candidate for such application is the semiconductor element germanium [1,2].
In the presented work, experiments were carried out on the synthesis of germanium nanoparticles and the study of the dynamics of dissolution of such particles in liquids. Germanium nanoparticles were synthesized by nanosecond laser ablation of single-crystalline germanium target in a liquid. The distilled water and isopropanol were used as liquid for ablation. Over the course of a month the dissolution of germanium nanoparticles in liquids was studied. The results showed that germanium nanoparticles are completely soluble in distilled water. And it happens within the first day after synthesis.
Also, the experiment on heating a solution of germanium nanoparticles with laser radiation at a wavelength of 937-938 nm was carried out. Experiments have shown that the addition of germanium nanoparticles allows one to increase the maximum heating temperature. Experimental data made it possible to estimate the dynamics of heating and cooling of the nanoparticle solution. Heating of a germanium nanoparticles solution by 11°C and 14°C, with a laser radiation power of 1.81 W and 2.52 W, respectively, was demonstrated. The heating time for the solution was 10 minutes, on average.
This work was financially supported by Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russian Federation (project No 075-15-2021-1347).
[1] R. Li, L. Wang, L. Yin, Materials and Devices for Biodegradable and Soft Biomedical Electronics. Materials 2018, 11, 2108.
[2] A.S. Almuslem, A.N. Hanna, T. Yapici, N. Wehbe, E.M. Diallo, A.T. Kutbee, R.R. Bahabry, M.M. Hussain, Water soluble nano-scale transient material germanium oxide for zero toxic waste based environmentally benign nano-manufacturing, Appl. Phys. Lett. 2017; 110 (7): 074103.