A
surfactant-less, seed mediated, biological synthesis of two dimensional (2-D)
nanoribbons in the presence of
breast cancer cells (MCF7) is demonstrated. The diameter and yield of
nanoribbons are tunable via seeds and
gold precursor concentration. Such crystalline
nanoribbons serve to enhance the Raman signals over MCF7 cells. The side and slopes of the triangular nanoplatelets fused as
nanoribbons exhibit plasmon excitement in quadrupole resonance modes in the infrared region. Consequently, when irradiated with an infrared
laser they show an excellent photothermal effect and rapid rise in temperature. The experimental results verified by finite-difference time-domain (FTDT) calculations reveal the presence of wedge-plasmon polaritons propagating along the edges of the
nanoribbons. These simulations confirm that long aspect ratio
nanoribbon's edges and vertices act as an active optical waveguide, allowing for heat propagation along the long axis, killing
cancer cells in the process at lower power doses.