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Despite the great progress in medical sciences, cancer is still a major health problem. Since the majority of cancer treatment protocols include first-generation chemotherapeutic agents, side effects and drug resistance are still a concerning issue. Therefore, targeted and selective solution for standard chemotherapeutics is needed more than ever. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have remarkable size and surface properties that make them the ideal vehicle for targeted and selective drug delivery. Different in vitro and in vivo experiments proved that these particles can be easily engineered in such a way that the chemical drug can be delivered directly to the tumor site. Moreover, different types of ligands can be loaded on the surface of GNPs to enhance selectivity or modulate drug release. Furthermore, the anti-angiogenic and photothermal properties of these particles can be used to potentialize the drug action. However, more studies must be conducted to elucidate all the toxicity issues and to acquire additional knowledge on the long-term health effects and interaction with all the human body's physiological mechanisms.
Yafout et al. (Sat,) studied this question.