Gold Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy and Diagnosis

Abstract

Cancer is a major health concern and the second-leading cause of mortality worldwide. Conventional cancer therapies like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are improving life expectancy of patients. Although these are the most reliable and efficient approaches available currently, there are several concerns pertaining to the risks involved like adverse effects, drug resistance, and relapse. Therefore, new cancer detection and treatment modalities are being extensively researched towards complete eradication of cancer with minimum side effects. Cancer nanomedicine is an emerging field applying nanoparticles for diagnosis and treatment of various cancers. Gold nanoparticles in particular are emerging as the most promising candidates due to the possibility of synthesis in varied morphologies, tuneable size, non-toxic nature, ease of surface functionalization, and optical and physicochemical properties. In this chapter, gold nanoparticle–based therapeutic approaches like drug delivery, nucleic acid delivery, photodynamic therapy, and photothermal therapy are discussed along with a complete overview of cancer diagnosis by imaging modalities like computed tomography, MRI, fluorescence, nuclear, and photoacoustic imaging, as well as biosensing. The safety concerns of gold nanoparticles for nanomedicine application have been addressed and the current status of clinical trials and associated challenges have been presented.