Simulation Study on the Photoacoustics of Cells with Endocytosed Gold Nanoparticles

The effect of endocytosis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on photoacoustic (PA) signal is examined using computer simulations. It assumes that the endocytosed AuNPs significantly enhance cellular optical absorption but do not alter thermophysical parameters. The PA signals were computed employing a theoretical model at various cell and intracellular NP concentrations for 532 nm illumination. It was found that the PA amplitude increased linearly in both the cases. The simulation results, when the contributions from both coherent and incoherent components are included, demonstrate good agreement with published experimental results.