Noble metal, especially gold nanoparticles and their conjugates with biopolymers have immense potential for disease diagnosis and therapy on account of their surface plasmon resonance (SPR) enhanced light scattering and absorption. Conjugation of noble metal nanoparticles to ligands specifically targeted to biomarkers on diseased cells allows molecular-specific imaging and detection of disease. The development of smart gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that can deliver therapeutics at a sustained rate directly to cancer cells may provide better efficacy and lower toxicity for treating cancer tumors. We highlight some of the promising classes of targeting systems that are under development for the delivery of gold nanoparticles. Nanoparticles designed for biomedical applications are often coated with polymers containing reactive functional groups to conjugate targeting ligands, cell receptors or drugs. Using targeted nanoparticles to deliver chemotherapeutic agents in cancer therapy offers many advantages to improve drug/gene delivery and to overcome many problems associated with conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The targeted nanoparticles were found to be effective in killing cancer cells which were studied using various anticancer assays. Cell morphological analysis shows the changes occurred in cancer cells during the treatment with AuNPs. The results determine the influence of particle size and concentration of AuNPs on their absorption, accumulation, and cytotoxicity in model normal and cancer cells. As the mean particle diameter of the AuNPs decreased, their rate of absorption by the intestinal epithelium cells increased. These results provide important insights into the relationship between the dimensions of AuNPs and their gastrointestinal uptake and potential cytotoxicity. Furthermore gold nanoparticles efficiently convert the absorbed light into localized heat, which can be exploited for the selective laser photothermal therapy of cancer. We also review the emerging technologies for the fabrication of targeted gold colloids as imagining agents.

贵金属，尤其是金纳米颗粒及其与生物聚合物的共轭物，由于其表面等离振子共振（SPR）增强了光的散射和吸收，因此在疾病诊断和治疗方面具有巨大的潜力。贵金属纳米粒子与专门针对患病细胞生物标志物的配体的缀合可实现分子特异性成像和疾病检测。可以以持续的速率直接将治疗剂直接递送至癌细胞的智能金纳米颗粒（AuNP）的开发，可以为治疗癌症提供更好的功效和更低的毒性。我们重点介绍了一些有前途的靶向系统，这些系统正在开发中以用于金纳米颗粒的输送。设计用于生物医学应用的纳米颗粒通常涂有含有反应性官能团的聚合物，以偶联靶向配体，细胞受体或药物。在癌症治疗中使用靶向的纳米颗粒来递送化学治疗剂具有许多优点，可以改善药物/基因的递送并克服与常规放射疗法和化学疗法相关的许多问题。发现使用多种抗癌测定法研究的靶向纳米粒子可有效杀死癌细胞。细胞形态分析显示在用AuNPs治疗期间癌细胞发生了变化。该结果确定了AuNPs的粒径和浓度对其在正常模型和癌细胞中的吸收，积累和细胞毒性的影响。随着AuNPs的平均粒径减小，它们被肠上皮细胞吸收的速率增加。这些结果提供了重要的见解，对AuNPs的尺寸及其胃肠道摄取与潜在细胞毒性之间的关系。此外，金纳米颗粒将吸收的光有效地转化为局部热量，可将其用于癌症的选择性激光光热疗法。我们还将回顾新兴的技术，这些技术可用于制造目标金胶体作为成像剂。可用于癌症的选择性激光光热疗法。我们还将回顾新兴的技术，这些技术可用于制造目标金胶体作为成像剂。可用于癌症的选择性激光光热疗法。我们还将回顾新兴的技术，这些技术可用于制造目标金胶体作为成像剂。