Anticancer and microbial activities of gold nanoparticles: A mechanistic review

Abstract

According to WHO reports, the emergence of antibiotic resistance together with limited discovery of newer and effective anticancer and antimicrobial chemotherapeutics remained of utmost concern to human health. In addition, the poor solubility, stability, and side effects that lead to inefficiency of current anticancer and antimicrobial therapy encouraged research into new strategies to combat such resilient disease. Various metal nanoparticles (MNPs) such as gold (Au), silver (Ag), and others synthesized from natural or chemical sources have displayed potential biological properties against a wide range of microbial infections caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria. Remarkably, gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) have gained particular concern, due to their biocompatibility, ease of surface functionalization, and their optical properties. Several studies have been carried out to investigate the antibacterial potentials of Au-NPs and findings showed that these NPs triggers microbial and cancer cell damage as a result of oxidative stress, membrane and DNA damage. In this review, we present a concise description of a broad update on Au-NPs isolated from natural and chemical sources that render it application in biomedical research as therapeutic agents. The review focuses mainly on the anticancer and antimicrobial activities of Au-NPs in conjunction with microorganism being prompted by different biocompatible origin and its future prospects these infectious systems. Finally, we summarize new possibilities for Au-NPs-based biochemical systems as an effective medical nanotechnology based therapeutic.

Keywords

• Gold
• Nanoparticles
• Antibacterial activities
• Resistance
• Nanomedicine