Affiliation:
1. Faculty of Pharmacy, ‘Victor Babes’ University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara 300041, Romania
Abstract
Cancer is still a leading cause of death worldwide, while most chemotherapies induce nonselective
toxicity and severe systemic side effects. To address these problems, targeted nanoscience is
an emerging field that promises to benefit cancer patients. Gold nanoparticles are nowadays in the spotlight
due to their many well-established advantages. Gold nanoparticles are easily synthesizable in
various shapes and sizes by a continuously developing set of means, including chemical, physical or
eco-friendly biological methods. This review presents gold nanoparticles as versatile therapeutic agents
playing many roles, such as targeted delivery systems (anticancer agents, nucleic acids, biological proteins,
vaccines), theranostics and agents in photothermal therapy. They have also been outlined to bring
great contributions in the bioimaging field such as radiotherapy, magnetic resonance angiography and
photoacoustic imaging. Nevertheless, gold nanoparticles are therapeutic agents demonstrating its in
vitro anti-angiogenic, anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on various cell lines, such as human
cervix, human breast, human lung, human prostate and murine melanoma cancer cells. In vivo studies
have pointed out data regarding the bioaccumulation and cytotoxicity of gold nanoparticles, but it has
been emphasized that size, dose, surface charge, sex and especially administration routes are very important
variables.
Funder
Unitatea Executiva pentru Finantarea Invatamantului Superior, a Cercetarii, Dezvoltarii si Inovarii
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Subject
Pharmacology,Molecular Medicine,Drug Discovery,Biochemistry,Organic Chemistry
Cited by
34 articles.
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