A Prospective Study of Laser Treatment of Port Wine Stain Associated with Gold Nanorods

Abstract

Laser therapy based on the selective photothermolysis has been regarded as the most effective treatment strategy for Port-Wine Stain (PWS) caused by the expansion of dermal capillaries. A long-pulsed Neodymium: Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) laser has great potential for deeply situated PWS. However, the weak absorption of blood to Nd:YAG laser limits the laser treatment efficacy. Gold nanorods, which can convert the absorbed near-infrared light into localized heat, have shown potential for photo-activated cancer therapy. Owing to their unique surface plasmon resonance and photothermal conversion effect, gold nanorods may be one of possible strategies for improving laser treatment efficacy of PWS by enhancing blood absorption to Nd:YAG laser. In this study, an experimental study was carried out to compare laser-induced thermal response of blood vessels in vivo animal model before and after injection of gold nanorods. The results demonstrated that the obvious thermal response of blood vessels to Nd:YAG can be obtained with lower laser energy fluence and less pulse number under the assistance of gold NRs, suggesting that Nd:YAG laser treatment combined with gold NRs may be a novel treatment strategy for PWS.