Open AccessNanometric gold in cancer nanotechnology: current status and future prospect
Author(s) -
Ahmad Mohammad Zaki,
Akhter Sohail,
Rahman Ziyaur,
Akhter Shabib,
Anwar Mohammed,
Mallik Neha,
Ahmad Farhan Jalees
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy and pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.745
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 2042-7158
pISSN - 0022-3573
DOI - 10.1111/jphp.12017
Subject(s) - photothermal therapy , nanotechnology , colloidal gold , drug delivery , materials science , nanoparticle , nanomaterials , cancer therapy , cancer , cancer treatment , medicine
Objectives This review elaborate on modified gold nanoparticulate concept in oncology, provides an overview of the use of gold nanoparticles in cancer treatment and discusses their potential applications and clinical benefits. Key findings Modified gold nanoparticles (e.g. rod, multipod and star or a hollow structure such as shell, box and cage) have promising applications in the fields of drug delivery and photothermal therapy in oncology due to their unique optical and photothermal properties and their ability to modify the surface and conjugate drugs/molecules with gold nanomaterial. Modified gold nanoparticles exhibit strong light absorption in the near‐infrared region in which light can penetrate deeply into soft tissue. Moreover, recent advances have opened the way to site‐specific delivery by gold nanoparticle. Summary Recent research and development in cancer‐targeted gold nanovectors shows promise for maximizing the efficacy of anti‐cancer drugs while decreasing their harmful systemic effects in chemotherapy. Moreover, gold nanoparticles can also serve as cancer therapeutic.