Fig. 10
From: Aptamer selection and applications for breast cancer diagnostics and therapy
(Reprinted with permission from Ref. [130]. Copyright © 2015, Royal Society of Chemistry)
Schematic illustration of the synthesis and use of aptamer functionalized gold nanorods (Apt-GNRs) for targeted photothermal therapy of breast cancer. First, cetyl trimethylammonium bromide-GNRs (CTAB-GNRs) were synthesized via a seed-mediated approach (1). Secondly, the CTAB was replaced by PEG (2) for functionalizing aptamer (3). Then, the Apt-GNRs were incubated with the targeted breast cancer cells followed by photothermal ablation in near infrared range (4), which eventually caused targeted cell death specifically (5)