Trends of Gold Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery System in Cancer Therapy

Publication date: Available online 29 November 2014 Source:Journal of Experimental & Clinical Medicine Author(s): Giimel Ajnai , Amy Chiu , Tzuchun Kan , Chun-Chia Cheng , Teh-Hua Tsai , Jungshan Chang Following surgical removal of malignant tumors, chemotherapeutic intervention usually is subsequently applied in patients with advanced stages of cancer. Most chemotherapeutic drugs are intravenously injected into patients, leading to systemic cytotoxicity in organs and tissues, including healthy tissue and tumors. Currently, it has been demonstrated that gold nanoparticles can easily penetrate blood vessels and tissue barriers into tumor foci, which indicates gold nanoparticles as a more effective drug carrier with great merits in reducing cytotoxicity and economic burden in patients. Moreover, gold nanoparticles display several unique characterizations with multiple functions in therapeutics, imaging, and surface modification, suggesting gold nanoparticles may become effective antitumor drug carriers. In this review article, we discuss the limitations and applications of gold nanoparticles in surface modification, targeting strategy, and safety considerations.
Source: Journal of Experimental and Clinical Medicine - Category: Journals (General) Source Type: research