Light-Induced Release from Gold-Coated Liposomes

We have computationally refined an experimental system with the potential for delivery and localized release of an encapsulated agent with high spatial and temporal resolution. We recently presented liposome-supported plasmon resonant gold nanoshells; in this composite structure, the liposome allows for the encapsulation of substances and the plasmon resonant structure facilitates rapid release of encapsulated contents upon laser light illumination. Using computational modeling, we now demonstrate that these liposome-supported nanoshells induce less local heating than solid gold spheres under optical trapping conditions, reducing their likelihood of damaging biological tissues used with this manipulation mechanism. We then present a general scheme for trapping of and localized release from gold-coated liposomes to enable accurate perturbation of cellular functions in response to released compounds, with possible applications in signalling pathways and drug discovery.