Unique Roles of Gold Nanoparticles in Drug Delivery, Targeting and Imaging Applications

Abstract

Nanotechnology has become more and more potentially used in diagnosis or treatment of diseases. Advances in nanotechnology have led to new and improved nanomaterials in biomedical applications. Common nanomaterials applicable in biomedical applications include liposomes, polymeric micelles, graphene, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, ferroferric oxide nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), and so on. Among them, Au NPs have been considered as the most interesting nanomaterial because of its unique optical, electronic, sensing and biochemical properties. Au NPs have been potentially applied for medical imaging, drug delivery, and tumor therapy in the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. This review focuses on some recent advances in the use of Au NPs as drug carriers for the intracellular delivery of therapeutics and as molecular nanoprobes for the detection and monitoring of target molecules.

Keywords: disease diagnosis; drug delivery; gold nanoparticles; imaging; molecular nanoprobes.

Figure 1

(a) Schematic illustration of DOX-tethered responsive gold nanoparticles (Au NPs); (b) Schematic illustration of the cooperation between enhanced DOX cellular entry and a responsive intracellular release of DOX into the cells to overcome drug resistance [16]. Reprinted with permission from reference [16]. Copyright (2011) American Chemical Society.

Figure 2

The quantitative analysis of gold nanorods (Au NRs) for the delivery of siRNA. Agarose gel electrophoresis was used to detect the bonding between siRNAs and Au NR-PSS-PAH [27]. Reproduced with permission from reference [27]. Copyright (2015), with permission from Elsevier.

Figure 3

A targeted, delivery-quantification DNA assembly platform. This platform consists of Au NRs, DOX, and DNA sequences, which are composed of aptamer DNA strands and their complementary DNA strands [52]. Reproduced with permission from reference [52]. Copyright (2016), with permission from Elsevier.

Figure 4

Representative axial micro- computed tomography (CT) images (a) and CT values (b) of the xenograft SPC-A1 tumor in nude mice before and after injected with {(Au⁰)₅₀-G5.NHAc-FA₅} DENPs by different injection routes for 1, 2, 4, and 6 h. The star “*” in (a) indicates the location of the tumor [63]. Reproduced with permission from reference [63]. Copyright (2013), with permission from Elsevier.