Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) have potential as chemotherapy drug delivery systems due to their dynamic nature. Specifically, they are small enough to penetrate tissue, inert to the human body, able to be modified via a Au-S bond, and visualized via MRI or X-ray. To establish the feasibility to selectively deliver multiple payloads, specific double-stranded DNA was attached to the surface of the AuNP with a Au-S bond and used to load the anti-cancer drugs mithramycin (MTM) and doxorubicin (DOX). Both a heating block and near IR (NIR) laser were used to demonstrate the tunable release of the drugs from the surface of the AuNP. The release of both fluorophore tagged DNA and the anticancer drugs were monitored by observing the fluorescence emission before and after exposure to heat or NIR irradiation. The results of these experiments demonstrate the potential for AuNPs to be used as a tunable delivery method for chemotherapy drugs as a targeted treatment to minimize the side effects common in many cancer treatments today.

Gold nanoparticles for selective anticancer drug delivery

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.