GOLD NANOPARTICLES AND THEIR CONJUGATES WITH ANTICANCER DRUGS: MODERN ERA OF CANCER TREATMENT

Abstract

Cancer is an extremely serious disease with increasing prevalence all over the world. It is quite challenging to treat cancer. Although many treatments options like chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery etc. are currently available; however, they have damaging side effects. The discovery of nanoparticle’s potential to have anticancer properties has opened new avenues in this field of research. Studies have revealed that when anticancer drugs are conjugated with Nanoparticles (NPs), they enhance their activity against cancerous cells showing a remarkable reduction in unintentional toxic effects on healthy cells. A variety of NPs can be used in anticancer treatment, but this review focused on gold nanoparticles with the potential scope to be used in cancer treatment. Due to their chemical inertness, gold nanoparticles are a fantastic option for cancer treatment and a wide range of other biological applications. This review covers several anticancer drugs that can be conjugated with gold nanoparticles and discuss the effects of these conjugates on various cancer cell types in vitro. The numerous in vivo and in vitro investigations covered in this study demonstrated that gold nanoparticles are a promising option for firstgeneration cancer medication. Moreover, by delivering these medications straight to the target cells by gold nanoparticles conjugation, the dosage and negative side effects can be decreased.