The light-oxygen effect in biological cells enhanced by highly localized surface plasmon-polaritons

Sci Rep. 2019 Dec 5;9(1):18435. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-54905-5.

Abstract

Here at the first time we suggested that the surface plasmon-polariton phenomenon which it is well described in metallic nanostructures could also be used for explanation of the unexpectedly strong oxidative effects of the low-intensity laser irradiation in living matters (cells, tissues, organism). We demonstrated that the narrow-band laser emitting at 1265 nm could generate significant amount of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) in both HCT116 and CHO-K1 cell cultures. Such cellular ROS effects could be explained through the generation of highly localized plasmon-polaritons on the surface of mitochondrial crista. Our experimental conditions, the low-intensity irradiation, the narrow spectrum band (<4 nm) of the laser and comparably small size bio-structures (~10 μm) were shown to be sufficient for the plasmon-polariton generation and strong laser field confinement enabling the oxidative stress observed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • CHO Cells
  • Cricetulus
  • HCT116 Cells
  • Humans
  • Lasers / adverse effects*
  • Light / adverse effects*
  • Mitochondria / metabolism
  • Mitochondria / radiation effects*
  • Oxidation-Reduction / radiation effects
  • Oxidative Stress / radiation effects*
  • Oxygen / metabolism*
  • Reactive Oxygen Species / metabolism
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance

Substances

  • Reactive Oxygen Species
  • Oxygen