Work

Nanoparticle and Membrane Responses in Plasmonic Polymeric Vesicles Under Distinct Pulsed Laser Irradiation Regimes

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Plasmonically responsive polymersomes are promising platforms for externally triggered cargo release, particularly under pulsed laser irradiation. Incorporating gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into the hydrophobic domain of the diblock copolymer membrane enables light‐triggered membrane disruption through plasmonic excitation. Despite the widespread use of plasmonic nanoparticles, the dependence of membrane‐incorporated AuNPs and membrane responses on pulsed laser conditions has not been systematically investigated. Here, AuNP‐loaded polymersomes (poly(butadiene) 33 ‐ b ‐poly(ethylene oxide) 20 ) were exposed to near‐resonant nanosecond (ns), picosecond (ps), and femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation. Experimental characterization combined with numerical modeling was used to correlate membrane and nanoparticle responses with AuNP photothermal dynamics. Together, these analyses indicate three distinct membrane response pathways and inferred mechanisms depending on laser pulse duration and fluence: (1) transient membrane permeabilization with minimal structural changes under ns (1.7–17 mJ cm −2 ) and low fluence ps irradiation (5.0 mJ cm −2 ); (2) complete vesicle rupture accompanied by AuNP fragmentation under medium‐ and high‐fluence ps irradiation (25–1.0 × 10 2 mJ cm −2 ); and (3) fluence‐dependent vesicle deformation with AuNP fusion and membrane restructuring under fs irradiation (2.8–10 mJ cm −2 ). These findings demonstrate that AuNP‐membrane response pathways can be tuned through laser conditions such as fluence and pulse duration, thereby altering plasmonic energy confinement and dissipation.

Source: Small Structures

DOI: 10.1002/sstr.70624

Authors: Regina L. Salzer, Cory J. Trout, Ajay N. Shah, Jiantao Kong, Sean M. O’Malley, Julianne C. Griepenburg

Institution: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Language: English

Topic: Gold and Silver Nanoparticles Synthesis and Applications

Subfield: Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $4,110

Funders: National Science Foundation, State of New Jersey Department of Education, New Jersey Space Grant Consortium, Office of Advanced Research Computing, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey