A Short Appraisal on Gold Nanoparticles: Recent Advances and Applications

Abstract

Owing to their unique characteristics and diverse surface activities, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been widely used in various fields of biology. The ease with which AuNPs can be functionalized makes it a useful platform for nanobiological assemblies containing oligonucleotides, antibodies, and proteins. AuNPs bioconjugates have also emerged as an interesting candidate for the development of novel biomaterials for the study of biological systems. AuNPs' flexibility has made them valuable in a variety of biomedical applications. The binding of analytes to AuNPs can change the physicochemical features of AuNPs, such as surface plasmon resonance, conductivity, and redox activity, resulting in observable signals in diagnostics. AuNPs can also be used as a therapeutic platform because of their large surface area, which allows for a dense presentation of multifunctional moieties (e.g., drugs and targeting agents). We present a brief summary of green synthesis, characteristics, and applications of gold nanoparticles in this paper, as well as their translational potential.