Stimuli-Responsive Gold Nanoparticles for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy

Abstract

An emerging concept is that cancers strongly depend on both internal and external signals for growth and invasion. In this review, we will discuss pathological and physical changes in the tumor microenvironment and how these changes can be exploited to design gold nanoparticles for cancer diagnosis and therapy. These intrinsic changes include extracellular and intracellular pH, extracellular matrix enzymes, and glutathione concentration. External stimuli include the application of laser, ultrasound and X-ray. The biology behind these changes and the chemistry behind the responding mechanisms to these changes are reviewed. Examples of recent in vitro and in vivo studies are also presented, and the clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Smart nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems for cancer therapy and toxicity studies: A review

“…The GNP surface could also be modified by folic acid, as folic acid receptors are also overexpressed on various tumor cells [124] , [125] . The drug can be unloaded from GNPs either by (1) external stimuli (laser, ultrasound and X-ray, light [126] ) or by (2) internal stimuli (pH, redox condition, matrix metalloproteinase) [127] . Various studies show the promise for gene transfection by GNPs to silence the gene responsible for the cancer [128] .…”

Gold nanoparticles in ophthalmology

“…Moreover, the modification of the electronic layer at the GNP surface by the use of different ligands, a larger surface or a change of the medium's dielectric constant, leads to the modulation of the GNP plasmon band. This plasmon band allows the use of GNP for labeling, imaging, optical and electrochemical recognition, and diagnosis and therapy . Furthermore, most of cytotoxicity studies report low or no toxicity due to the inert nature of gold and the biocompatibility of the chosen ligands .…”

Antitumor efficacy of liposome-encapsulated NVP-BEZ 235 in combination with irreversible electroporation

“…Chemotherapy agents delivered with nanoparticles have also been shown to have enhanced anticancer and fewer side effects than small molecular chemotherapy agents because they take advantage of the enhanced permeation and retention effect, which utilizes the leaky vessels and damaged lymphatic drainage in the tumor area and allows the accumulate of nanoparticles and the incorporation of targeting ligands, which allows specific targeting of the nanoparticles to tumor cells (Blanco et al., 2015 ). Finally, nanoparticles have potential theranostic applications, especially in combination with other clinical or interventional modalities (Tian et al., 2016 ).…”