Remote Activation of Hollow Nanoreactors for Heterogeneous Photocatalysis in Biorelevant Media

• Published in: Nano letters Vol. 20; no. 10; pp. 7068 - 7076
• Main Authors: Sousa-Castillo, Ana, Couceiro, José R, Tomás-Gamasa, María, Mariño-López, Andrea, López, Fernando, Baaziz, Walid, Ersen, Ovidiu, Comesaña-Hermo, Miguel, Mascareñas, José L, Correa-Duarte, Miguel A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 14-10-2020
• Subjects: Chemical Sciences; bioorthogonal chemistry; hybrid nanocapsules; plasmonic hot electrons; Photocatalysis
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c02180

Major current challenges in nano-biotechnology and nano-biomedicine include the implementation of predesigned chemical reactions in biological environments. In this context, heterogeneous catalysis is emerging as a promising approach to extend the richness of organic chemistry onto the complex environments inherent to living systems. Herein we report the design and synthesis of hybrid heterogeneous catalysts capable of being remotely activated by near-infrared (NIR) light for the performance of selective photocatalytic chemical transformations in biological media. This strategy is based on the synergistic integration of Au and TiO2 nanoparticles within mesoporous hollow silica capsules, thus permitting an efficient hot-electron injection from the metal to the semiconductor within the interior of the capsule that leads to a confined production of reactive oxygen species. These hybrid materials can also work as smart NIR-responsive nanoreactors inside living mammalian cells, a cutting-edge advance toward the development of photoresponsive theranostic platforms.