A new study addresses one of the key challenges in nanomedicine: translating high-performance nanomaterials from laboratory to scalable, industrially relevant manufacturing processes. It demonstrates the successful industrial-scale chemical synthesis of gold nanorods (tiny cylinder-shaped particles of gold at the nanometre scale that interact with light, and, in particular, with light that has no interference with the body absorption. Allowing them to be used as an indicator in cancer detection and treatment), achieving reproducible production from laboratory, 30 ml, scale up to 30 litre batches.
From laboratory synthesis to industrial relevance
Gold nanorods (GNRs) are widely studied for biomedical applications due to their unique optical properties, which make them suitable for advanced imaging and therapeutic approaches.
GNRs work by utilising their particular longitudinal localised surface plasmonic resonance (LLSPR) optical property. Therefore, when GNRs are illuminated at the proper optical frequencies, the conduction band electrons in the gold are excited, resulting in a resonant, coherent oscillation of these electrons. This resonance condition leads to extensive light extinction (the sum of optical absorption and scattering).
A LLSPR centred in the so-called “biological window”, which is the optical wavelengths range in the near-infrared characterised by high tissue transparency, allows properly engineered GNRs to be applied for precise visualisation of tumour cells and treatment. However, their broader clinical and industrial use has long been limited by difficulties in scaling up production while maintaining consistent quality.
PHIRE has worked intensively on optimising critical parameters for GNRs production, to be able to treat but also to early detect bladder cancer, which is one of the costliest cancers to treat, primarily because of its high rate of recurrence. Nowadays, one of the biggest clinical challenges in bladder cancer is detecting very small lesions that can easily be missed during standard procedures.
The newly published study, where PHIRE researchers have contributed, demonstrates how careful optimisation of the synthesis process enables reproducible production of gold nanorods at significantly larger volumes, marking an important step towards their real-world application in medical technologies.
Ensuring reproducibility and quality at scale
The research shows that consistent optical properties and material quality can be preserved during scale-up, confirming the feasibility of producing gold nanorods in larger volumes without compromising the characteristics required for biomedical use. By addressing reproducibility early in the development process, the study helps bridge the gap between experimental research and industrial deployment of nanomaterials.
Upcoming online panel discussion | Tuesday 16 June
The PHIRE team is organising an online panel discussion “PHIRE: redefining a new bladder cancer treatment”, where the experts will present their innovative approach for bladder cancer treatment. The event will cover the European Innovation Council’s role and the EU’s strategic interest in fostering healthcare innovation, a state-of-the-art perspective of high-grade bladder cancer management, PHIRE’s theranostic solution for detecting and removing high-grade bladder residual disease, demonstrating how integrated scientific and clinical strategies can reduce tumour relapse and progression while improving patient outcomes.
Discover the agenda and register here: PHIRE: redefining a new bladder cancer treatment - Phire Project.
Industrial-scale chemical synthesis of gold nanorods: process optimization and 30 L scale-up toward GMP manufacturing, Filippo Capancioni, Emanuela Bua, Erica Locatelli, Richard Jasinski, David Perrey, Tia Cervarich, Mauro Comes Franchini, January 2026
References
About PHIRE
Health programmes crave for diagnostic imaging and eradication of chemoresistant neoplastic lesions smaller than 1 mm of size. PHIRE aims at bringing closer to market a novel high-resolution theranostic solution effective in clinical applications and ready for use in human bladder cancer. Both male and female patients should benefit from this. Starting in September 2023, the PHIRE project will run for 3 years, funded by the Horizon Europe programme, under GA No. 101113193.
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