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Review
. 2022 Oct 21;12(20):3706.
doi: 10.3390/nano12203706.

Gold-Nanoparticle Hybrid Nanostructures for Multimodal Cancer Therapy

Amaal Abdulraqeb Ali  1 , Waad H Abuwatfa  2   3 , Mohammad H Al-Sayah  3   4 , Ghaleb A Husseini  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Gold-Nanoparticle Hybrid Nanostructures for Multimodal Cancer Therapy

Amaal Abdulraqeb Ali et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

With the urgent need for bio-nanomaterials to improve the currently available cancer treatments, gold nanoparticle (GNP) hybrid nanostructures are rapidly rising as promising multimodal candidates for cancer therapy. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have been hybridized with several nanocarriers, including liposomes and polymers, to achieve chemotherapy, photothermal therapy, radiotherapy, and imaging using a single composite. The GNP nanohybrids used for targeted chemotherapy can be designed to respond to external stimuli such as heat or internal stimuli such as intratumoral pH. Despite their promise for multimodal cancer therapy, there are currently no reviews summarizing the current status of GNP nanohybrid use for cancer theragnostics. Therefore, this review fulfills this gap in the literature by providing a critical analysis of the data available on the use of GNP nanohybrids for cancer treatment with a specific focus on synergistic approaches (i.e., triggered drug release, photothermal therapy, and radiotherapy). It also highlights some of the challenges that hinder the clinical translation of GNP hybrid nanostructures from bench to bedside. Future studies that could expedite the clinical progress of GNPs, as well as the future possibility of improving GNP nanohybrids for cancer theragnostics, are also summarized.

Keywords: gold-nanoparticle hybrid nanostructures; multimodal therapy; photothermal therapy; triggered drug delivery.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
GNP hybrid nanostructures shapes, functionalization, and common applications.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Illustration of the different nanocarrier types and release-triggering mechanisms.
Figure 3
Figure 3
A schematic illustrating the ‘coil-to-globule’ phase transition of thermosensitive polymers upon exposure to heating above the LCST. The conformation change from the hydrated coil state (left) to the dehydrate globule state (right) results in drug release.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Advantages provided by GNP nanohybrids for cancer theragnostics.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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