Table 3.
Recent research developments in AuNPs for drug delivery
| Sl no | Material used | Highlights | Relevance | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AuNPs—lipoic acid—modified PEG derivative of Doxorubicin (DOX) |
-Enhanced dispersion and stability -Drug concentration in tumour cells doubled in comparison with the DOX-HCl group (Fig. 1 B) |
Dual-step stimuli-responsive drug release that increases the in-vivo anti-cancer efficiency | [54] |
| 2 | AuNPs-PEG with Doxorubicin (DOX) |
-Different analogs of thiolated DOX were synthesized and 2 of the most stable analogs were chosen -Release of DOX attained by the reducing agents or in the presence of an acidic environment -This reductive release was the best drug release |
The resulting conjugate could be used for conjugating with cytokine TMF (tumour necrosis factor) | [55] |
| 3 | Pd-Cu@Au tripods |
-Average length of tripod arm – 45.3 nm -greater action of two-photon luminescence and outstanding LSPR -Two-photon action varying with the quantity of Au present in the coating -Exceptional ability for PET imaging and targeted delivery to tumour cells |
The first-ever report on a quantitative comparison of the property of two-photon luminescence of synthesized tripods to various other AuNPs | [56] |
| 4 | Ultra-small AuNPs-mesoporous silica NPs (MSNPs) with Doxorubicin (DOX) |
-Redox-activated delivery of DOX -AuNPs placed in the holes of MSNPs gets heated up by NIR irradiation, which is in favour of photothermal therapy -Efficiency of photothermal conversion depended on the power of radiation and concentration of MSNP-AuNP -Faster release of DOX either by NIR irradiation or in the presence of glutathione |
Drug delivery system for synergetic chemo and photothermal therapy | [57] |
| 5 | PEG-AuNPs with Bleomycin (BLM)-capped Doxorubicin (DOX) |
-Exhibited greater loading capacity -Excellent stability -Displayed active targeting to cancer cells |
A simple one-step synthesis of AuNPs along with conjugation of 2 anti-cancer drugs, with reduced toxicity | [58] |
| 6 | Magnetic AuNPs with Doxorubicin (DOX) |
-Comprises of plasmonic Au shell -Synthesized compound exhibited high photostability -Efficient conversion of NIR light to heat energy -Increased cancer cell cytotoxicity |
Multifunctional nanoplatform – magnetically targeted delivery of DOX, contrast agent of MR imaging, photothermal therapy, and chemotherapy | [59] |
| 7 | Folic acid (FA)-polymer-AuNPs with 5-fluorouracil (5FU) nanoconjugates (polymers: malate-PEG, tartrate-PEG, and citrate-PEG) |
-sustained drug release up to 27 days -Highly biocompatible -Higher activities of inhibition in company with lower amounts of 5FU compared to free 5FU -π back-bonded FA-polymer-AuNP nanoconjugate |
Drug delivery for breast cancer treatment | [60] |
| 8 | Doxorubicin (DOX)-PEGAuNPs and Varlitinib (Varl) -PEGAuNPs nanoconjugates |
-Stable drug conjugation to PEGAuNPs (for DOX-49.5 5.0%; for Varl-95.0 3.0%) -Slow and stable drug release after 72 h at pH = 7.4 (47% from DOXPEGAuNPs; 31% from VarlPEGAuNPs) |
Drug delivery against Human Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma | [61] |
| 9 | Extracellular Vesicles (EVs)—AuNPs/ PEG/ Folic Acid (FA) |
-AuNPs are incorporated to nurture the internalization of nanoparticles and peddling of the same through the late endosome pathway, for subsequent release from cells in EVs -Enhanced uptake, the potential for immunotherapy of tumour EVs and natural tropism displayed when compared to other EVs |
AuNPs helps to promote indirect labelling of EVs | [62] |
| 10 | Gold nanorods with cell-penetrating peptides (oligoarginines) and with the amphipathic peptide CLPFFD. (GNR-Arg7CLPFFD) |
-Enhanced biological membrane interactions -Cell viability is least affected by the conjugate |
Improvisation of cell penetration capability | [63] |
| 11 | AuNPs loaded with ketotifen |
-Improved swelling of contact lens, oxygen permeability, and optical transmittance -in vitro experiments showed low burst and control ketotifen release up to 96 h |
Controlled ophthalmic drug delivery | [64] |
| 12 | Au@Pt NPs—functionalised with a quinazoline based molecule |
-Au NPs capped with Pt NPs -conjugation of small organic molecule (quinazoline) |
Selective targeting of glioblastoma cell lines | [65] |
*PEG polyethylene glycol, Pt platinum