Gold Nanorods for Drug and Gene Delivery: An Overview of Recent Advancements
Atieh Jahangiri-Manesh,
Marziyeh Mousazadeh,
Shirinsadat Taji,
Abbas Bahmani,
Atefeh Zarepour,
Ali Zarrabi,
Esmaeel Sharifi,
Mostafa Azimzadeh
Affiliations
Atieh Jahangiri-Manesh
Department of Nanobiotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran P.O. Box 14115-154, Iran
Marziyeh Mousazadeh
Department of Nanobiotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran P.O. Box 14115-154, Iran
Shirinsadat Taji
Department of Nanobiotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran P.O. Box 14115-154, Iran
Abbas Bahmani
Institute for Nanoscience & Nanotechnology (INST), Sharif University of Technology, Tehran P.O. Box 14588-89694, Iran
Atefeh Zarepour
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Istinye University, Sariyer, Istanbul 34396, Turkey
Ali Zarrabi
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Istinye University, Sariyer, Istanbul 34396, Turkey
Esmaeel Sharifi
Department of Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan P.O. Box 65178-38736, Iran
Mostafa Azimzadeh
Medical Nanotechnology & Tissue Engineering Research Center, Yazd Reproductive Sciences Institute, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd P.O. Box 887-89165, Iran
Over the past few decades, gold nanomaterials have shown great promise in the field of nanotechnology, especially in medical and biological applications. They have become the most used nanomaterials in those fields due to their several advantageous. However, rod-shaped gold nanoparticles, or gold nanorods (GNRs), have some more unique physical, optical, and chemical properties, making them proper candidates for biomedical applications including drug/gene delivery, photothermal/photodynamic therapy, and theranostics. Most of their therapeutic applications are based on their ability for tunable heat generation upon exposure to near-infrared (NIR) radiation, which is helpful in both NIR-responsive cargo delivery and photothermal/photodynamic therapies. In this review, a comprehensive insight into the properties, synthesis methods and toxicity of gold nanorods are overviewed first. For the main body of the review, the therapeutic applications of GNRs are provided in four main sections: (i) drug delivery, (ii) gene delivery, (iii) photothermal/photodynamic therapy, and (iv) theranostics applications. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives of their therapeutic application are discussed.
