AuNPs as an important inorganic nanoparticle applied in drug carrier systems

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), as a kind of inorganic nanoparticle, have been gradually recognized as one of the most promising nanomaterials, which is attributed to their unique optical, electronic, sensing and biochemical characteristics. Due to such unique characteristics, AuNPs have been widely applied in biomedical fields such as diagnosis, biosensing and drug delivery. Except for their use in cancer treatment alone with their photothermal ablation of solid tumours, when used with anticancer drugs, AuNPs can exert a dual role in treating cancer. With the advantages of protecting drugs from degradation and leakage in the physiological environment, tuneable modification in size, surface and shape, and biocompatibility, AuNPs can be used as promising drug carriers in anticancer drug design. However, there are still many aspects that need to be improved during the usage of drug carriers in pharmacology including the following aspects: prolongation in the plasma, enhancement in targeting accumulation, improvement in cellular uptake and the control of intracellular release. AuNPs are important drug carriers.

Gold nanoparticle‑mediated delivery of paclitaxel and nucleic acids for cancer therapy (Review)

“…currently, there are four types of nanodelivery systems used or in development in oncology: Polymeric, magnetic, metallic and lipid nPs (36). aunPs are non-toxic, can be easily synthesized into different sizes and shapes, have a large surface area to transport drugs, exhibit good biocompatibility and absorb near-infrared light (nir) that can be converted to heat to enable focused thermal therapy (39). aunPs are used in diagnostic imaging, targeted delivery of drugs, radioisotopes and reactive oxygen species-generating enzymes, and plasmonic PTT and photodynamic therapy (40).…”

The Role of Natural Compounds and their Nanocarriers in the Treatment of CNS Inflammation

“…Among the widely used metallic NPs, gold NPs have several advantages, such as simple preparation method, consistency of size distribution, high permeability through the BBB, easiness of surface functionalization, applicability for various imaging techniques (i.e., magnetic resonance imaging; MRI), and active targeting with external magnetic fields [ 215 , 216 , 217 ]. A recent study demonstrated that neuron-targeted rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG)-bound exosomes-coated gold NPs could be easily transported across the BBB and highly accumulated into the brain in an in vitro BBB model and normal rats [ 218 ].…”

Gold‐Nanoparticle‐Decorated Metal‐Organic Frameworks for Anticancer Therapy

“…shows the application of Au NPs as a drug carrier under in vivo and their ability to generate ROS with NIR irradiation for the apoptosis of tumor cells. [80]…”