Figure 1.

Schematic representation of the gold nanoparticle and its possible uses in the biomedical field. The gold nanoparticle can be tagged with one or more things depending on its intended use, such as the delivery of nucleic acids or protein fragments or the delivery of drugs and their controlled release. Targeting of its contents to the specific cells of the body is performed by using antibody-tagged GNPs or by the use of ligands attached to them targeting specific receptors of the body. Imaging techniques have been immensely developed by the use of GNP-tagged dye optical probes.