EVOLUTION OF GOLD NANOPARTICLES: PHARMACOKINETICS, TOXICOLOGY AND PATENT OVERVIEW.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been used as a preferred therapeutic agent to treat a wide variety of diseases mainly cancers. Although the use of gold has been largely suspended by newer drugs, gold nanoparticles are still being used effectively in laboratory based clinical diagnostic methods concurrently showing great effectiveness in vivo as a theronostic agent. Also recent advances in nanocarriers for therapeutic use with Au-containing drugs is improving the beneficial actions and reducing toxic properties of these agents. For these reasons, gold nanoparticles are well placed to enter mainstream clinical practice in the near future. The present review summarizes the chemistry, Therapeutics, route of administration, synthesis methods, pharmacokinetics, bio-distribution, and toxicity of bulk gold nanoparticles based on clinical observation and experiments in which gold nanoparticles were used to treat patients with various diseases. The beneficial attributes of gold nanoparticles, such as their ease of synthesis, biocompatibility, functionalization and shape control are also highlighted demonstrating why gold nanoparticles are an attractive target for further development and optimization. The biomedical applications and current discoveries in the field of gold nanoparticles were also highlighted via patent and clinical trial overview.