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Gold Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 October 2016) | Viewed by 31376

Special Issue Editor

Department of Chemistry, Morgan State University, 1700 East Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, MD 21251, USA
Interests: plasmonics; metal-enhanced fluorescence; metallic nanoparticles; ultra-fast surface chemistry;, ultra-fast nanoparticle-based assays; metal-assisted and microwave-accelerated crystallization; medical biotechnology; biosensors; plasmon-enhanced enzymatic reactions; biological hydrogen production

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are part of the family of plasmonic particles with a size range of 1–100 nm in diameter and can be prepared using various methods. Due to their size and free electron density, AuNPs exhibit a plethora of valuable properties, such as large surface area to volume ratio, uptake by biological systems, interactions with electromagnetic fields and simplicity of synthesis in different shapes and sizes. Subsequently, there is a continued interest in their biomedical applications, such as drug delivery, bio-sensing, and gene therapy, just to name a few. This Special Issue seeks to share the most recent and upcoming reports on the synthesis and surface modification strategies of AuNPs with a focus in biocompatibility for current and future treatment and management of human diseases.

Prof. Kadir Aslan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Gold nanostructures
  • Hybrid nanoparticles
  • Plasmonics
  • Surface plasmon resonance
  • Nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery
  • Nanoparticle-mediated gene therapy
  • Nanoparticle-mediated cell tracking
  • Photothermal therapy
  • Bioimaging
  • Plasmon-controlled fluorescence
  • Colorimetric bioassays
  • Metal-assisted decrystallization for biomedical applications
  • Metal-assisted crystallization for drug design
  • Other biomedical applications of gold nanoparticles
  • Colorimetric bioassays
  • Metal-assisted decrystallization for biomedical applications
  • Metal-assisted crystallization for drug design
  • Other biomedical applications of gold nanoparticles

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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3660 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activity of Silver and Gold Nanoparticles Synthesised Using Sargassum incisifolium Aqueous Extracts
by Mokone Mmola, Marilize Le Roes-Hill, Kim Durrell, John J. Bolton, Nicole Sibuyi, Mervin E. Meyer, Denzil R. Beukes and Edith Antunes
Molecules 2016, 21(12), 1633; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21121633 - 02 Dec 2016
Cited by 60 | Viewed by 7588
Abstract
A detailed, methodical approach was used to synthesise silver and gold nanoparticles using two differently prepared aqueous extracts of the brown algae Sargassum incisifolium. The efficiency of the extracts in producing nanoparticles were compared to commercially available brown algal fucoidans, a major [...] Read more.
A detailed, methodical approach was used to synthesise silver and gold nanoparticles using two differently prepared aqueous extracts of the brown algae Sargassum incisifolium. The efficiency of the extracts in producing nanoparticles were compared to commercially available brown algal fucoidans, a major constituent of brown algal aqueous extracts. The nanoparticles were characterised using TEM, XRD and UV/Vis spectroscopy and zeta potential measurements. The rate of nanoparticle formation was assessed using UV/Vis spectroscopy and related to the size, shape and morphology of the nanoparticles as revealed by TEM. The antioxidant, reducing power and total polyphenolic contents of the aqueous extracts and fucoidans were determined, revealing that the aqueous extracts with the highest contents produced smaller, spherical, more monodisperse nanoparticles at a faster rate. The nanoparticles were assessed against two gram-negative bacteria, two gram-positive bacteria and one yeast strain. In contrast to the literature, the silver nanoparticles produced using the aqueous extracts were particularly toxic to Gram-negative bacteria, while the gold nanoparticles lacked activity. The cytotoxic activity of the nanoparticles was also evaluated against cancerous (HT-29, MCF-7) and non-cancerous (MCF-12a) cell lines. The silver nanoparticles displayed selectivity, since the MCF-12a cell line was found to be resistant to the nanoparticles, while the cancerous HT-29 cell line was found to be sensitive (10% viability). The gold nanoparticles displayed negligible toxicity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gold Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications)
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6151 KiB  
Article
Decrystallization of Crystals Using Gold “Nano-Bullets” and the Metal-Assisted and Microwave-Accelerated Decrystallization Technique
by Nishone Thompson, Zainab Boone-Kukoyi, Raquel Shortt, Carisse Lansiquot, Bridgit Kioko, Enock Bonyi, Salih Toker, Birol Ozturk and Kadir Aslan
Molecules 2016, 21(10), 1388; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21101388 - 18 Oct 2016
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 6206
Abstract
Gout is caused by the overproduction of uric acid and the inefficient metabolism of dietary purines in humans. Current treatments of gout, which include anti-inflammatory drugs, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, and systemic glucocorticoids, have harmful side-effects. Our research laboratory has recently introduced an innovative approach [...] Read more.
Gout is caused by the overproduction of uric acid and the inefficient metabolism of dietary purines in humans. Current treatments of gout, which include anti-inflammatory drugs, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, and systemic glucocorticoids, have harmful side-effects. Our research laboratory has recently introduced an innovative approach for the decrystallization of biological and chemical crystals using the Metal-Assisted and Microwave-Accelerated Evaporative Decrystallization (MAMAD) technique. In the MAMAD technique, microwave energy is used to heat and activate gold nanoparticles that behave as “nano-bullets” to rapidly disrupt the crystal structure of biological crystals placed on planar surfaces. In this study, crystals of various sizes and compositions were studied as models for tophaceous gout at different stages (i.e., uric acid as small crystals (~10–100 μm) and l-alanine as medium (~300 μm) and large crystals (~4400 μm). Our results showed that the use of the MAMAD technique resulted in the reduction of the size and number of uric acid and l-alanine crystals up to >40% when exposed to intermittent microwave heating (up to 20 W power at 8 GHz) in the presence of 20 nm gold nanoparticles up to 120 s. This study demonstrates that the MAMAD technique can be potentially used as an alternative therapeutic method for the treatment of gout by effective decrystallization of large crystals, similar in size to those that often occur in gout. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gold Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications)
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4104 KiB  
Article
Bioaccumulation and Subchronic Toxicity of 14 nm Gold Nanoparticles in Rats
by Clinton Rambanapasi, Jan Rijn Zeevaart, Hylton Buntting, Cornelius Bester, Deon Kotze, Rose Hayeshi and Anne Grobler
Molecules 2016, 21(6), 763; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21060763 - 10 Jun 2016
Cited by 52 | Viewed by 7114
Abstract
Colloidal suspensions of 14 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were repeatedly administered intravenously at three dose levels (0.9, 9 and 90 µg) to male Sprague Dawley rats weekly for 7 weeks, followed by a 14-day washout period. After sacrificing, the amount of gold was [...] Read more.
Colloidal suspensions of 14 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were repeatedly administered intravenously at three dose levels (0.9, 9 and 90 µg) to male Sprague Dawley rats weekly for 7 weeks, followed by a 14-day washout period. After sacrificing, the amount of gold was quantified in the liver, lungs, spleen, skeleton and carcass using neutron activation analysis (NAA). During the study, pre- and post (24 h) administration blood samples were collected from both the test and control groups, the latter which received an equal injection volume of normal saline. General health indicators were monitored together with markers of kidney and liver damage for acute and subchronic toxicity assessment. Histopathological assessments were done on the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs and spleen to assess any morphological changes as a result of the exposure to AuNPs. The mass measurements of all the groups showed a steady increase with no signs of overt toxicity. The liver had the highest amount of gold (µg) per gram of tissue after 56 days followed by the spleen, lungs, skeleton and carcass. Markers of kidney and liver damage showed similar trends between the pre and post samples within each group and across groups. The histopathological examination also showed no hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. There was accumulation of Au in tissues after repeated dosing, albeit with no observable overt toxicity, kidney or liver damage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gold Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications)
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Review

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975 KiB  
Review
Gold Nanoparticles in Single-Cell Analysis for Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering
by Mine Altunbek, Gamze Kuku and Mustafa Culha
Molecules 2016, 21(12), 1617; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21121617 - 25 Nov 2016
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 9942
Abstract
The need for new therapeutic approaches in the treatment of challenging diseases such as cancer, which often consists of a highly heterogeneous and complex population of cells, brought up the idea of analyzing single cells. The development of novel techniques to analyze single [...] Read more.
The need for new therapeutic approaches in the treatment of challenging diseases such as cancer, which often consists of a highly heterogeneous and complex population of cells, brought up the idea of analyzing single cells. The development of novel techniques to analyze single cells has been intensively studied to fully understand specific alternations inducing abnormalities in cellular function. One of the techniques used for single cell analysis is surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in which a noble metal nanoparticle is used to enhance Raman scattering. Due to its low toxicity and biocompatibility, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are commonly preferred as SERS substrates in single cell analysis. The intracellular uptake, localization and toxicity issues of AuNPs are the critical points for interpretation of data since the obtained SERS signals originate from molecules in close vicinity to AuNPs that are taken up by the cells. In this review, the AuNP–living cell interactions, cellular uptake and toxicity of AuNPs in relation to their physicochemical properties, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering from single cells are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gold Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications)
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