Study of photodynamic activity of Au@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles in vitro

Metal-semiconductor core-shell type Au@SiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by Stober's method. They were characterized by absorption, XRD, HR-TEM and EDAX techniques. The resulting modified core-shell nanoparticles shows that the formation of singlet oxygen, which was confirmed by ESR technique. The photohemolysis studies were carried out under two different experimental conditions. It is observed that the photohemolysis increases with concentration as well as light dose. Cell viability of the core-shell nanoparticles against HeLa cell lines were studied by MTT assay method. The outcomes of the present study indicate that, the Au@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles are extremely stable with a very high photodynamic efficiency under visible light illumination. [Display omitted] •Au@SiO2 core-shell NPs were synthesized by Stober's method.•Photohemolysis was studied in human erythrocytes.•Cell viability was studied in HeLa cell lines.•Au@SiO2 core-shell NPs shows remarkable photodynamic activity.