Title:Gold and Silver Nanoparticles for Applications in Theranostics
Volume: 16
Issue: 27
Author(s): Patrizia Di Pietro, Gaetano Strano, Lidia Zuccarello and Cristina Satriano
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Drug delivery, Imaging, Metal nanoparticle, Nanomaterial synthesis, Nanotoxicity, Plasmonics, Surface functionalization.
Abstract: Noble metal nanomaterials, such as gold or silver nanoparticles, exhibit unique
photonic, electronic, catalytic and therapeutic properties. The high versatility in their
synthesis, especially size and shape features, as well as in the surface functionalization
by, e.g., physisorption, direct chemisorption of thiol derivatives and covalent binding
through bifunctional linkers or specific affinity interactions, prompted their widespread
and rising use as multifunctional platforms for theranostic purposes. In this paper, the
recent developments of gold and silver nanoparticles for application in biosensing, medical
imaging, diagnosis and therapy is reviewed from the following five aspects: (1) the
gold and silver nanomaterials intrinsic properties of biomedical interest; (2) the synthesis
of noble metal nanoparticles by chemical, physical and biological/green processes; (3)
the applications of gold and silver nanoparticles in imaging, diagnostic and therapeutic mode; (4) the surface
functionalization processes for targeting, controlled drug loading and release, triggered pathways of cellular
uptake and tissue distribution; and (5) nanotoxicity. The historical developments and the most recent applications
have been focused on, together with suggested strategies for future more efficacious, targeted delivery.
