A new era for cancer treatment: gold-nanoparticle-mediated thermal therapies.

Nanotechnology-based cancer treatment approaches potentially provide localized, targeted therapies that aim to enhance efficacy, reduce side effects, and improve patient quality of life. Gold-nanoparticle-mediated hyperthermia shows particular promise in animal studies, and early clinical testing is currently underway. In this article, the rapidly evolving field of gold nanoparticle thermal therapy is reviewed, highlighting recent literature and describing current challenges to clinical translation of the technology.

[1]  Michael J Ford,et al.  Optimization of plasmonic heating by gold nanospheres and nanoshells. , 2006, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[2]  D. Lapotko,et al.  Laser‐induced bubbles in living cells , 2006, Lasers in surgery and medicine.

[3]  D. Krewski,et al.  Thermal therapy, part 1: an introduction to thermal therapy. , 2006, Critical reviews in biomedical engineering.

[4]  Xiaohua Huang,et al.  Selective laser photo-thermal therapy of epithelial carcinoma using anti-EGFR antibody conjugated gold nanoparticles. , 2006, Cancer letters.

[5]  K. Brown,et al.  Magnetic field heating study of Fe-doped Au nanoparticles , 2007 .

[6]  Warren C W Chan,et al.  Nanoparticle-mediated cellular response is size-dependent. , 2008, Nature nanotechnology.

[7]  P Wust,et al.  Clinical hyperthermia of prostate cancer using magnetic nanoparticles: Presentation of a new interstitial technique , 2005, International journal of hyperthermia : the official journal of European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology, North American Hyperthermia Group.

[8]  Valery V Tuchin,et al.  Circulation and distribution of gold nanoparticles and induced alterations of tissue morphology at intravenous particle delivery , 2009, Journal of biophotonics.

[9]  J. D. Payne,et al.  Application of INAA to the build-up and clearance of gold nanoshells in clinical studies in mice , 2007 .

[10]  Younan Xia,et al.  Gold Nanocages for Biomedical Applications , 2007, Advanced materials.

[11]  Ekaterina Lukianova,et al.  Method of laser activated nano-thermolysis for elimination of tumor cells. , 2006, Cancer letters.

[12]  J F Hainfeld,et al.  Gold nanoparticles: a new X-ray contrast agent. , 2006, The British journal of radiology.

[13]  Chunxin Zhang,et al.  Significant effect of size on the in vivo biodistribution of gold composite nanodevices in mouse tumor models. , 2007, Nanomedicine : nanotechnology, biology, and medicine.

[14]  Sabine Neuss,et al.  Size-dependent cytotoxicity of gold nanoparticles. , 2007, Small.

[15]  James W Tunnell,et al.  Modulation of in vivo tumor radiation response via gold nanoshell-mediated vascular-focused hyperthermia: characterizing an integrated antihypoxic and localized vascular disrupting targeting strategy. , 2008, Nano letters.

[16]  Pai-Chi Li,et al.  In vivo photoacoustic molecular imaging with simultaneous multiple selective targeting using antibody-conjugated gold nanorods , 2008 .

[17]  J. West,et al.  Immunotargeted nanoshells for integrated cancer imaging and therapy. , 2005, Nano letters.

[18]  Shen,et al.  Photoinduced luminescence from the noble metals and its enhancement on roughened surfaces. , 1986, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[19]  Peter Wust,et al.  Intracranial Thermotherapy using Magnetic Nanoparticles Combined with External Beam Radiotherapy: Results of a Feasibility Study on Patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme , 2006, Journal of Neuro-Oncology.

[20]  Anil Shetty,et al.  Analytical solution to heat equation with magnetic resonance experimental verification for nanoshell enhanced thermal therapy , 2008, Lasers in surgery and medicine.

[21]  Vincent M Rotello,et al.  Toxicity of gold nanoparticles functionalized with cationic and anionic side chains. , 2004, Bioconjugate chemistry.

[22]  E. Ruoslahti.  Targeting tumor vasculature with homing peptides from phage display. , 2000, Seminars in cancer biology.

[23]  A. Estrada,et al.  Two-photon-induced photoluminescence imaging of tumors using near-infrared excited gold nanoshells , 2008, 2008 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics and 2008 Conference on Quantum Electronics and Laser Science.

[24]  Mauro Ferrari,et al.  Intravascular Delivery of Particulate Systems: Does Geometry Really Matter? , 2008, Pharmaceutical Research.

[25]  S. Emelianov,et al.  Photoacoustic imaging and temperature measurement for photothermal cancer therapy. , 2008, Journal of biomedical optics.

[26]  Prashant K. Jain,et al.  Determination of the Minimum Temperature Required for Selective Photothermal Destruction of Cancer Cells with the Use of Immunotargeted Gold Nanoparticles , 2006, Photochemistry and photobiology.

[27]  P. Barber.  Absorption and scattering of light by small particles , 1984 .

[28]  K. Leong,et al.  Multifunctional nanorods for gene delivery , 2003, Nature materials.

[29]  Younan Xia,et al.  Gold nanocages as photothermal transducers for cancer treatment. , 2010, Small.

[30]  Glenn P. Goodrich,et al.  Photothermal Efficiencies of Nanoshells and Nanorods for Clinical Therapeutic Applications , 2009 .

[31]  C. Noguez.  Surface Plasmons on Metal Nanoparticles: The Influence of Shape and Physical Environment , 2007 .

[32]  Håkan Wallin,et al.  Protracted elimination of gold nanoparticles from mouse liver. , 2009, Nanomedicine : nanotechnology, biology, and medicine.

[33]  Matteo Pasquali,et al.  Carbon nanotube‐enhanced thermal destruction of cancer cells in a noninvasive radiofrequency field , 2007, Cancer.

[34]  Michele Follen,et al.  Real-time vital optical imaging of precancer using anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibodies conjugated to gold nanoparticles. , 2003, Cancer research.

[35]  Vincent M. Rotello,et al.  Tuning Payload Delivery in Tumour Cylindroids using Gold Nanoparticles , 2010, Nature nanotechnology.

[36]  R. Drezek,et al.  Silica-gold nanoshells as potential intraoperative molecular probes for HER2-overexpression in ex vivo breast tissue using near-infrared reflectance confocal microscopy , 2010, Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

[37]  Zhichuan J. Xu,et al.  Magnetic core/shell Fe3O4/Au and Fe3O4/Au/Ag nanoparticles with tunable plasmonic properties. , 2007, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[38]  R. Weissleder.  A clearer vision for in vivo imaging , 2001, Nature Biotechnology.

[39]  Xiaohua Huang,et al.  Surface plasmon resonance scattering and absorption of anti-EGFR antibody conjugated gold nanoparticles in cancer diagnostics: applications in oral cancer. , 2005, Nano letters.

[40]  Yildiz Bayazitoglu,et al.  Gold nanoshell density variation with laser power for induced hyperthermia , 2009 .

[41]  Wei Qian,et al.  The potential use of the enhanced nonlinear properties of gold nanospheres in photothermal cancer therapy , 2007, Lasers in surgery and medicine.

[42]  Michael J Sailor,et al.  Computationally guided photothermal tumor therapy using long-circulating gold nanorod antennas. , 2009, Cancer research.

[43]  Håkan Wallin,et al.  Kupffer cells are central in the removal of nanoparticles from the organism , 2007, Particle and Fibre Toxicology.

[44]  Travis L. Jennings,et al.  Enhancing the Toxicity of Cancer Chemotherapeutics with Gold Nanorod Hyperthermia , 2008 .

[45]  R. Gillies,et al.  Gold Nanorods Targeted to Delta Opioid Receptor: Plasmon-Resonant Contrast and Photothermal Agents , 2008, Molecular imaging.

[46]  R Jason Stafford,et al.  Feasibility study of particle-assisted laser ablation of brain tumors in orthotopic canine model. , 2009, Cancer research.

[47]  Wei Lu,et al.  Targeted Photothermal Ablation of Murine Melanomas with Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone Analog–Conjugated Hollow Gold Nanospheres , 2009, Clinical Cancer Research.

[48]  Hui Zhang,et al.  Immuno gold nanocages with tailored optical properties for targeted photothermal destruction of cancer cells. , 2007, Nano letters.

[49]  Min Gu,et al.  Effect of heat accumulation on the dynamic range of a gold nanorod doped polymer nanocomposite for optical laser writing and patterning. , 2007, Optics express.

[50]  M. Abdulla-Al-Mamun,et al.  Plasmon-induced photothermal cell-killing effect of gold colloidal nanoparticles on epithelial carcinoma cells , 2009, Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology.

[51]  Wei Lu,et al.  In vitro and in vivo targeting of hollow gold nanoshells directed at epidermal growth factor receptor for photothermal ablation therapy , 2008, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.

[52]  T. Bein,et al.  Reply to “Comment on ‘Gold Nanoshells Improve Single Nanoparticle Molecular Sensors'” , 2005 .

[53]  R K Jain,et al.  Transport of molecules, particles, and cells in solid tumors. , 1999, Annual review of biomedical engineering.

[54]  W. Dewey,et al.  Arrhenius relationships from the molecule and cell to the clinic , 2009, International journal of hyperthermia : the official journal of European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology, North American Hyperthermia Group.

[55]  K. Sokolov,et al.  Two-photon luminescence imaging of cancer cells using molecularly targeted gold nanorods. , 2007, Nano letters.

[56]  Glenn P. Goodrich,et al.  Photothermal therapy in a murine colon cancer model using near-infrared absorbing gold nanorods. , 2010, Journal of biomedical optics.

[57]  Xiaohua Huang,et al.  Cancer cell imaging and photothermal therapy in the near-infrared region by using gold nanorods. , 2006, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[58]  Nastassja A. Lewinski,et al.  Cytotoxicity of nanoparticles. , 2008, Small.

[59]  R. Shukla,et al.  Gastrin releasing protein receptor specific gold nanorods: breast and prostate tumor avid nanovectors for molecular imaging. , 2009, Nano letters.

[60]  Jon Cardinal,et al.  Noninvasive radiofrequency ablation of cancer targeted by gold nanoparticles. , 2008, Surgery.

[61]  Mauro Ferrari,et al.  Mesoporous silicon particles as a multistage delivery system for imaging and therapeutic applications. , 2008, Nature nanotechnology.

[62]  Thomas Kelly,et al.  Synergistic enhancement of selective nanophotothermolysis with gold nanoclusters: Potential for cancer therapy , 2005, Lasers in surgery and medicine.

[63]  Younan Xia,et al.  Gold nanocages: synthesis, properties, and applications. , 2008, Accounts of chemical research.

[64]  H. V. Hulst.  Light Scattering by Small Particles , 1957 .

[65]  A note on laser penetration in nanoshell deposited tissue , 2009 .

[66]  Alaaldin M. Alkilany,et al.  Gold nanoparticles in biology: beyond toxicity to cellular imaging. , 2008, Accounts of chemical research.

[67]  Dong Liang,et al.  Influence of anchoring ligands and particle size on the colloidal stability and in vivo biodistribution of polyethylene glycol-coated gold nanoparticles in tumor-xenografted mice. , 2009, Biomaterials.

[68]  Erik C. Dreaden,et al.  Gold nanorod assisted near-infrared plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT) of squamous cell carcinoma in mice. , 2008, Cancer letters.

[69]  Petra Krystek,et al.  Particle size-dependent organ distribution of gold nanoparticles after intravenous administration. , 2008, Biomaterials.

[70]  James W Tunnell,et al.  Near-infrared narrow-band imaging of gold/silica nanoshells in tumors. , 2009, Journal of biomedical optics.

[71]  Leon Hirsch,et al.  Nanoshell-Enabled Photonics-Based Imaging and Therapy of Cancer , 2004, Technology in cancer research & treatment.

[72]  Takuro Niidome,et al.  PEG-modified gold nanorods with a stealth character for in vivo applications. , 2006, Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society.

[73]  Gan-Moog Chow,et al.  In vivo toxic studies and biodistribution of near infrared sensitive Au–Au2S nanoparticles as potential drug delivery carriers , 2008, Journal of materials science. Materials in medicine.

[74]  Ji-Xin Cheng,et al.  Controlling the cellular uptake of gold nanorods. , 2007, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[75]  T. Niidome,et al.  The effects of PEG grafting level and injection dose on gold nanorod biodistribution in the tumor-bearing mice. , 2009, Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society.

[76]  P. Wust,et al.  The cellular and molecular basis of hyperthermia. , 2002, Critical reviews in oncology/hematology.

[77]  J. West,et al.  Near-infrared-resonant gold/gold sulfide nanoparticles as a photothermal cancer therapeutic agent. , 2010, Small.

[78]  A. Mikhailovsky,et al.  Scalable routes to gold nanoshells with tunable sizes and response to near-infrared pulsed-laser irradiation. , 2008, Small.

[79]  Jennifer Stanfield,et al.  Selective prostate cancer thermal ablation with laser activated gold nanoshells. , 2008, The Journal of urology.

[80]  Paolo Bernardi,et al.  Specific absorption rate and temperature elevation in a subject exposed in the far-field of radio-frequency sources operating in the 10-900-MHz range , 2003, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[81]  Anand Gole,et al.  Targeted photothermal lysis of the pathogenic bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with gold nanorods. , 2008, Nano letters.

[82]  Bong Hyun Chung,et al.  Acute toxicity and pharmacokinetics of 13 nm-sized PEG-coated gold nanoparticles. , 2009, Toxicology and applied pharmacology.

[83]  Ji-Xin Cheng,et al.  Gold Nanorods Mediate Tumor Cell Death by Compromising Membrane Integrity , 2007, Advanced materials.

[84]  Xingde Li,et al.  A quantitative study on the photothermal effect of immuno gold nanocages targeted to breast cancer cells. , 2008, ACS nano.

[85]  Hongwei Liao and,et al.  Gold Nanorod Bioconjugates , 2005 .

[86]  Jennifer Sturgis,et al.  A cellular Trojan Horse for delivery of therapeutic nanoparticles into tumors. , 2007, Nano letters.

[87]  M. Bentley,et al.  Chemistry for peptide and protein PEGylation. , 2002, Advanced drug delivery reviews.

[88]  Jennifer L. West,et al.  Immunonanoshells for targeted photothermal ablation in medulloblastoma and glioma: an in vitro evaluation using human cell lines , 2007, Journal of Neuro-Oncology.

[89]  Ekaterina Lukianova,et al.  Selective laser nano‐thermolysis of human leukemia cells with microbubbles generated around clusters of gold nanoparticles , 2006, Lasers in surgery and medicine.

[90]  Leon Hirsch,et al.  Gold nanoshell bioconjugates for molecular imaging in living cells. , 2005, Optics letters.

[91]  Weiming Liu,et al.  In vitro cancer cell imaging and therapy using transferrin-conjugated gold nanoparticles. , 2009, Cancer letters.

[92]  N. Nakashima,et al.  Photothermal reshaping of gold nanorods depends on the passivating layers of the nanorod surfaces. , 2008, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[93]  J. M. Harris,et al.  Effect of pegylation on pharmaceuticals , 2003, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery.

[94]  J. West,et al.  Near-infrared resonant nanoshells for combined optical imaging and photothermal cancer therapy. , 2007, Nano letters.

[95]  Q. Pankhurst,et al.  Applications of magnetic nanoparticles in biomedicine , 2003 .

[96]  Thaddeus J. Norman,et al.  Comment on "gold nanoshells improve single nanoparticle molecular sensors". , 2005, Nano letters.

[97]  J. Zhang,et al.  Reduction of HAuCl4 by Na2S revisited : The case for au nanoparticle aggregates and against Au2S/Au core/shell particles , 2007 .

[98]  D. P. O'Neal,et al.  Quantitative comparison of delta P1 versus optical diffusion approximations for modeling near-infrared gold nanoshell heating. , 2009, Medical physics.

[99]  John D Hazle,et al.  Laser-induced thermal response and characterization of nanoparticles for cancer treatment using magnetic resonance thermal imaging. , 2007, Medical physics.

[100]  Dar-Bin Shieh,et al.  Nanoshell Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agents , 2007, 2007 Digest of papers Microprocesses and Nanotechnology.

[101]  Thomas J. Smith,et al.  American Society of Clinical Oncology guidance statement: the cost of cancer care. , 2009, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[102]  Warren C W Chan,et al.  Mediating tumor targeting efficiency of nanoparticles through design. , 2009, Nano letters.

[103]  Min Gu,et al.  Spectral encoding on Gold Nanorods Doped in a Silica Sol–Gel Matrix and Its Application to High‐Density Optical Data Storage , 2007 .

[104]  Vasilis Ntziachristos,et al.  Shedding light onto live molecular targets , 2003, Nature Medicine.

[105]  S. Luo,et al.  In vitro photothermal study of gold nanoshells functionalized with small targeting peptides to liver cancer cells , 2010, Journal of materials science. Materials in medicine.

[106]  Wadih Arap,et al.  Networks of gold nanoparticles and bacteriophage as biological sensors and cell-targeting agents , 2006, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[107]  Charles DiMarzio,et al.  Surface functionalization of gold nanoparticles using hetero-bifunctional poly(ethylene glycol) spacer for intracellular tracking and delivery , 2006, International journal of nanomedicine.

[108]  Chitta Ranjan Patra,et al.  Intracellular gold nanoparticles enhance non-invasive radiofrequency thermal destruction of human gastrointestinal cancer cells , 2008, Journal of nanobiotechnology.

[109]  D. P. O'Neal,et al.  Photo-thermal tumor ablation in mice using near infrared-absorbing nanoparticles. , 2004, Cancer letters.

[110]  J. McGahan,et al.  Radiofrequency ablation of the liver: current status. , 2001, AJR. American journal of roentgenology.

[111]  C. Batt,et al.  Gold hybrid nanoparticles for targeted phototherapy and cancer imaging , 2010, Nanotechnology.

[112]  Naomi J Halas,et al.  Immunonanoshells for targeted photothermal ablation of tumor cells , 2006, International journal of nanomedicine.

[113]  Arezou A Ghazani,et al.  Determining the size and shape dependence of gold nanoparticle uptake into mammalian cells. , 2006, Nano letters.

[114]  C. Murphy,et al.  Gold nanoparticles are taken up by human cells but do not cause acute cytotoxicity. , 2005, Small.

[115]  Konstantin V Sokolov,et al.  Hybrid plasmonic magnetic nanoparticles as molecular specific agents for MRI/optical imaging and photothermal therapy of cancer cells , 2007 .

[116]  Massoud Motamedi,et al.  Engineering of hetero-functional gold nanorods for the in vivo molecular targeting of breast cancer cells. , 2009, Nano letters.

[117]  J. West,et al.  EphrinAl-targeted nanoshells for photothermal ablation of prostate cancer cells , 2008, International journal of nanomedicine.

[118]  J. Cadeddu,et al.  Efficacy of laser-activated gold nanoshells in ablating prostate cancer cells in vitro. , 2007, Journal of endourology.

[119]  Astrid Chamson-Reig,et al.  Depth of photothermal conversion of gold nanorods embedded in a tissue-like phantom , 2009, Nanotechnology.

[120]  R. Kumar,et al.  Hollow gold nanoparticles encapsulating horseradish peroxidase. , 2005, Biomaterials.

[121]  Zhenxin Wang,et al.  Functional gold nanoparticle-peptide complexes as cell-targeting agents. , 2008, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[122]  Tammy Y. Olson,et al.  Synthesis, characterization, and tunable optical properties of hollow gold nanospheres. , 2006, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[123]  R. Stafford,et al.  Nanoshell-mediated near-infrared thermal therapy of tumors under magnetic resonance guidance , 2003, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[124]  O. Førre,et al.  Rheumatoid arthritis and metal compounds--perspectives on the role of oxygen radical detoxification. , 1998, The Analyst.

[125]  Hui Zhang,et al.  Gold nanocages: bioconjugation and their potential use as optical imaging contrast agents. , 2005, Nano letters.

[126]  Weihong Tan,et al.  Selective photothermal therapy for mixed cancer cells using aptamer-conjugated nanorods. , 2008, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[127]  P. Jain,et al.  Calculated absorption and scattering properties of gold nanoparticles of different size, shape, and composition: applications in biological imaging and biomedicine. , 2006, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[128]  Rebekah Drezek,et al.  Enhanced multi-spectral imaging of live breast cancer cells using immunotargeted gold nanoshells and two-photon excitation microscopy , 2008, Nanotechnology.