Plasmon-controlled shaping of gold nanostar photothermal therapy agents.

Tunable gold nanostars were synthesized through the reduction of gold salt by an aminosugar, N -methyl-D-glucamine, in a seed-less route. The nanoparticle morphology and size were facilely tuned through adjustments in reaction pH and LED light-mediated synthesis. The materials demonstrated low inherent cytotoxicity and high potential for photothermal therapy.