Localized surface plasmon resonance properties and biomedical applications of copper selenide nanomaterials

Abstract Nanomaterials with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) locating in the near-infrared region have broad application prospects in the field of biomedicine. However, the biggest problem that limits the biomedical application of such nanomaterials lies in two aspects: First, the potential long-term in vivo toxicity caused by the metabolism of many nanomaterials with LSPR effect; Second, most of current nanomaterials with LSPR effect are difficult to achieve LSPR wavelength tunability in the near-infrared region to adapt to different biomedical applications. Copper selenide nanomaterials are composed of selenium and copper, which are necessary nutrient elements for human life. Because of the active and flexible chemical properties of selenium and copper, copper selenide nanomaterials can not only be effectively degraded and utilized in human body, but also be endowed with various physicochemical properties by chemical modification or doping. Recently, copper selenide nanomaterials have shown unique properties such as LSPR in the near-infrared region, making them attractive for near-infrared thermal ablation, photoacoustic imaging, disease marker detection, multimode imaging, and so on. Currently, to the best of our knowledge, there is no review on the LSPR properties of copper selenide nanomaterials and its biomedical applications. This review first discusses the relationship between the physicochemical properties and the LSPR of copper selenide nanomaterials and then summarizes the latest progress in the application of copper selenide nanomaterials in biological detection, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. In addition, the advantages, and prospects of copper selenide nanomaterials in biomedicine are also highlighted.