Gold nanoparticles as a cancer theranostic agent

The application of nanotechnology to medicine that known as nanomedicine, focuses on the use of nanomaterials to develop novel therapeutic and diagnostic modalities. Because of unique physiochemical and optical properties of gold nanoparticle (GNP) such as good biocompability, nontoxic nature, surface properties, comparative Stability and etc., it have been widely studied in medicine, especially as a cancer theranostic agent. This review focus on recent progress in the field of gold nanomaterials in cancer therapy and diagnosis. For cancer detection, several studies indicated that GNPs can be used for X-ray, MR and optical imaging. In the aspect of cancer treatment, more studies investigated the effect of GNPs in different treatment modalities like photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, sonodynamic therapy, drug delivery, and radiotherapy. Moreover, concern about the toxicity of different features of GNP and uptake method by cells or organs is addressed in in-vitro and in-vivo studies. We have especially reviewed the role of GNP in improving radiotherapy efficiency as radiosensitizers. For optimization of the parameters influencing on the radiosensitisation of GNP, many studies have been performed in different scientific routes. We categorized them to 3 fields; monte carlo simulation, cellular and animal studies. Finally, according to the reported finding by different researchers, the Physical and biological mechanism of GNPs in providing the radiosensitizing effect have been discussed.

کلیدواژه ها:

Multidisciplinary Cancer Research ، Cancer Treatment and Management ، Targeted Cancer Therapy ، Drugs and Cancer ، Radio-Oncology