Gold nanoparticles: Emerging paradigm for targeted drug delivery system (original) (raw)

2013, Biotechnology Advances

The application of nanotechnology in medicine, known as nanomedicine, has introduced a plethora of 22 nanoparticles of variable chemistry and design considerations for cancer diagnosis and treatment. One of 23 the most important field is the design and development of pharmaceutical drugs, based on targeted drug 24 delivery system (TDDS). Being inspired by physio-chemical properties of nanoparticles, TDDS are designed 25 to safely reach their targets and specifically release their cargo at the site of disease for enhanced therapeu-26 tic effects, thereby increasing the drug's tissue bioavailability. Nanoparticles have the advantage of 27 targeting cancer by simply being accumulated and entrapped in cancer cells. However, even after rapid 28 growth of nanotechnology in nanomedicine, designing an effective targeted drug delivery system is still a 29 challenging task. In this review, we reveal the recent advances in drug delivery approach with a particular 30 focus on gold nanoparticles. We seek to expound on how these nanomaterials communicate in the complex 31 environment to reach the target site, and how to design the effective TDDS for complex environments and 32 simultaneously monitor the toxicity on the basis of designing such delivery complexes. Hence, this review 33 will shed light on the research, opportunities and challenges for engineering nanomaterials with cancer bi-34 ology and medicine to develop effective TDDS for treatment of cancer.