Gold Nanoparticles: Biosynthesis and Potential of Biomedical Application

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are extremely promising objects for solving a wide range of biomedical problems. The gold nanoparticles production by biological method (“green synthesis”) is eco-friendly and allows minimization of the amount of harmful chemical and toxic byproducts. This review is devoted to the AuNPs biosynthesis peculiarities using various living organisms (bacteria, fungi, algae, and plants). The participation of various biomolecules in the AuNPs synthesis and the influence of size, shapes, and capping agents on the functionalities are described. The proposed action mechanisms on target cells are highlighted. The biological activities of “green” AuNPs (antimicrobial, anticancer, antiviral, etc.) and the possibilities of their further biomedical application are also discussed.

Plant-Based Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles and Theranostic Applications: A Review

“…Nanoparticle synthesis from metals has gained enormous interest among researchers because of nanoparticles' diverse application in many fields such as cancer therapy, drug delivery, food safety, fabrics, chemistry, water treatment, and photocatalysis, as well as because of their antioxidant, antibacterial, and cytotoxic properties [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. The uses of nanoparticles in various fields are possible because of several factors, including the nanoparticles shape, size, distribution, and surface plasmon [21][22][23].…”

Recent Developments in Metallic Nanomaterials for Cancer Therapy, Diagnosing and Imaging Applications

“…Additionally, green-synthesized Au NPs were demonstrated to have intrinsic antitumor properties [24], showing promising results when tested against several human cancer cell lines, counting liver cancer [25,26], lung cancer [27][28][29], colon cancer [30][31][32], pancreatic cancer [33,34], breast cancer [35,36], cervix carcinoma [37,38], and ovarian adenocarcinoma [39]. In what concerns the mechanisms of action, the particles were reported to enhance ROS production, change the mitochondrial membrane potential, inhibit the migration assay, activate caspase expression, and downregulate antiapoptotic protein expression, eventually resulting in antiproliferative effects and cancer cells apoptosis.…”

State of the Art on Green Route Synthesis of Gold/Silver Bimetallic Nanoparticles

“…Likewise Ag ions, Au ions (both in Au + and Au 3+ oxidation state) show affinity towards -SH group, and several Au ions included in organic complexes turned out to be effective as antimicrobial and/or anticancer agents [ 67 , 68 ]. However, in the Au NPs, the antibacterial and anticancer effects are most likely due to the compresence of other components within the nanosystems such as surface coating agents and bioactive molecules, such as those ones obtained through phytosynthesis [ 69 ]. Au NPs are mostly chosen for their extraordinary safety and biocompatibility profile, together with their unique optical (e.g., ability to be activated at relatively low radiation energy generating heat as in photothermal anticancer therapy) and surface properties (e.g., accessibility of use of surface modification agents for engineering strategies [ 70 , 71 , 72 ].…”