Multifunctional Gold Nanoparticles in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world, behind only cardiovascular diseases, and is one of the most serious diseases threatening human health nowadays. Cancer patients’ lives are being extended by the use of contemporary medical technologies, such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, these treatments are not always effective in extending cancer patients’ lives. Simultaneously, these approaches are often accompanied with a series of negative consequences, such as the occurrence of adverse effects and an increased risk of relapse. As a result, the development of a novel cancer-eradication strategy is still required. The emergence of nanomedicine as a promising technology brings a new avenue for the circumvention of limitations of conventional cancer therapies. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), in particular, have garnered extensive attention due to their many specific advantages, including customizable size and shape, multiple and useful physicochemical properties, and ease of functionalization. Based on these characteristics, many therapeutic and diagnostic applications of AuNPs have been exploited, particularly for malignant tumors, such as drug and nucleic acid delivery, photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, and X-ray-based computed tomography imaging. To leverage the potential of AuNPs, these applications demand a comprehensive and in-depth overview. As a result, we discussed current achievements in AuNPs in anticancer applications in a more methodical manner in this review. Also addressed in depth are the present status of clinical trials, as well as the difficulties that may be encountered when translating some basic findings into the clinic, in order to serve as a reference for future studies.

Anti-Cancer Activity of the Combinational Treatment of Noozone Cold Plasma with p-FAK Antibody-Conjugated Gold Nanoparticles in OSCC Xenograft Mice

“…It is well-known that GNPs have a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect, which is the coherent oscillation of free electrons on the GNP’s surface, triggered by lights and energy [ 41 ]. Due to this property, many researchers reported that the combinational treatment of GNPs with various kinds of biomedical techniques such as lasers [ 42 ], radiations [ 43 , 44 ] and ultrasonics [ 45 ] can kill cancer cells by inducing necrosis and apoptosis of cancer cells depending on the size of the GNPs and the power of the GNP stimulating techniques they used [ 46 ].…”

Gold Nanoparticles Contact with Cancer Cell: A Brief Update

“…Although the current results of research on AuNPs in cancer field are indeed encouraging, to the best of our knowledge, clinical applications of AuNPs in oncology are almost absent: as reported in the introductory section, only a few examples are in clinical trials, mainly on AuNPs as PTTs and delivery agents [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]. Unfortunately, the toxicity profile of AuNPs and other many factors, including the clearance of the mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS), the renal excretion, the physiological barriers, and the differences between patients decelerate clinical entering of the AuNPs [ 12 , 13 , 45 ]. The reader interested in the physical and chemical properties of AuNPs exploited in the field of oncology can consult the recent review by Bai et al [ 13 ].…”

“…Therefore, there is an urgent need for more in-depth studies to clarify and research the factors influencing the pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and in vivo toxicity of AuNPs. However, determining which parameters are most important in the in vivo toxicity and biodistribution of AuNPs is very challenging for many reasons: (i) the available publications differ widely in experimental methods and conditions (differences in exposure time and dose [ 12 ] and route of administration [ 151 , 154 ]; (ii) species-specific differences in reactions and sensitivity [ 155 ]; (iii) the limitations of current pre-clinical models (testing the toxicity of AuNPs in conventional 2D models may not accurately reflect the AuNPs-cell interaction) [ 156 ]. Another challenge concerns ligands used for the functionalization of AuNPs.…”

“…Another challenge concerns ligands used for the functionalization of AuNPs. As pointed out in the previous paragraphs, functionalizing the surface of AuNPs with biocompatible and cancer-specific molecules can direct and limit their effect to cancer cells, thus reducing toxicity effects [ 12 ]. However, prior to their application as a targeting ligand, problems related to their purification, immunogenicity and toxicity must be addressed [ 157 ].…”

“…It remains the case, however, and as recently reviewed by Lopes et al [ 8 ], that despite the high number of gold-based nanomaterials developed there are persistent translation challenges with AuNPs. In fact, although AuNPs show potentially useful properties in many preclinical studies, there are very few clinical trials assessing the use of AuNPs for cancer diagnostics and therapy, and, to date, no preparations containing AuNPs have been used effectively in clinical practice [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. CYT-6091 (Aurimune) was the first product in clinical trials using AuNPs functionalized with the recombinant human tumor necrosis factor alpha (rhTNFα) for patients with advanced solid tumors (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00356980, NCT00436410).…”