Application of gold nanoparticles in biomedical and drug delivery

• Published in: Artificial cells, nanomedicine, and biotechnology Vol. 44; no. 1; p. 410
• Main Authors: Daraee, Hadis, Eatemadi, Ali, Abbasi, Elham, Fekri Aval, Sedigheh, Kouhi, Mohammad, Akbarzadeh, Abolfazl
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 02-01-2016
• Subjects: Biosensing Techniques; Dendrimers - chemical synthesis; Dendrimers - therapeutic use; Diagnostic Imaging - methods; Drug Delivery Systems - methods; Genetic Therapy; Gold - chemistry; Humans; Liposomes - chemical synthesis; Liposomes - therapeutic use; Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry; Metal Nanoparticles - ultrastructure; Micelles; Nanomedicine - methods; Photosensitizing Agents - chemical synthesis; Photosensitizing Agents - therapeutic use; Quantum Dots - chemistry; Transfection - methods; photothermal; biocompatible; drug delivery; gold nanoparticle; immunoassay
• ISSN: 2169-141X
• DOI: 10.3109/21691401.2014.955107

Nanoparticles are the simplest form of structures with sizes in the nanometer (nm) range. In principle any collection of atoms bonded together with a structural radius of < 100 nm can be considered nano particles. Nanotechnology offers unique approaches to probe and control a variety of biological and medical processes that occur at nanometer scales, and is expected to have a revolutionary impact on biology and medicine. Among the approaches for exploiting nanotechnology in medicine, nanoparticles offer some unique advantages as sensing, image enhancement, and delivery agents. Several varieties of nanoparticles with biomedical relevance are available including, polymeric nanoparticles, metal nanoparticles, liposomes, micelles, quantum dots, dendrimers, and nanoassemblies. To further the application of nanoparticles in disease diagnosis and therapy, it is important that the systems are biocompatible and capable of being functionalized for recognition of specific target sites in the body after systemic administration. In this review, we have explained some important applications of gold nanoparticles.