Nanoengineering Palladium Plasmonic Nanosheets Inside Polymer Nanospheres for Photothermal Therapy and Targeted Drug Delivery

The incorporation of plasmonic nanoconstructs in biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles (NPs), together with therapeutic drugs in a controlled procedure is of interest for different applications in Nanomedicine. Advanced hybrid nanomaterials can be engineered by combining the in situ formation of plasmonic palladium nanosheets (NSs) and the proper ionic nature of the encapsulated drug. This study presents a new procedure to synthesize hybrid nanostructures by a Pickering double emulsion. Anisotropic palladium (Pd) NSs with unique near-infrared (NIR)-optical properties can be assembled within a poly lactic-co-glycolic acid matrix of < 200 nm NPs, when Pd precursors are in situ reduced via a gas-phase procedure. The hybrid nanomaterials respond to external NIR light stimulus. The unprecedented precision to assemble, in a single stage, plasmonic nanoconstructs having a total loading selectivity, when encapsulated in combination with hydrophobic drugs, offers new opportunities in the new class of theragnostics, in particular when triggered drug delivery and photothermal therapies are required.