Anisotropic gold nanoparticles have been recognized as promising agents for medical
diagnostics and cancer therapy due to their wide functionality, photothermal effect, and ability for
optical signal amplification in the near-infrared range. In this work, a simple and rapid method for
the preparation of bone-shaped gold nanoparticles coated with a dye-impregnated silica shell with
an aminated surface is proposed. The possibility of further functionalization the nanostructures with
a delivery vector using folic acid as an example is demonstrated. The average size of the resulting
tags does not exceed 70 nm, meeting the criteria of cell endocytosis. The prepared tags exhibit
surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra at excitation with lasers of 632.8 and 785 nm. Cell
imaging is performed on HeLa cells based on the most pronounced SERS bands as a tracking signal.
The obtained images, along with scanning electron microscopy of cell samples, revealed the tendency
of tags to agglomerate during endocytosis followed by the “hot spots” effect. To evaluate the toxic
and proliferative effect of the nanotags, an MTT assay was performed with two HeLa and HEP G2
cell lines. The results revealed higher viability for HEP G2 cells.