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Gold nanocages in cancer diagnosis, therapy, and theranostics: A brief review

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Abstract

Regarding the increasing number of cancer patients, the global burden of this disease is continuing to grow. Despite a considerable improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of various types of cancer, new diagnosis and treatment strategies are required. Nanotechnology, as an interesting and advanced field in medicine, is aimed to further advance both cancer diagnosis and treatment. Gold nanocages (AuNCs), with hollow interiors and porous walls, have received a great deal of interest in various biomedical applications such as diagnosis, imaging, drug delivery, and hyperthermia therapy due to their special physicochemical characteristics including the porous structure and surface functionalization as well as optical and photothermal properties. This review is focused on recent developments in therapeutic and diagnostic and applications of AuNCs with an emphasis on their theranostic applications in cancer diseases.

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Acknowledgement

This work was financially supported by the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Vahid Alimardani, Ghazal Farahavar, Sepide Salehi & Samira Sadat Abolmaali

  2. Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Saeed Taghizadeh

  3. Laboratory of Basic Sciences, Mohammad Rasul Allah Research Tower, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Moosa Rahimi Ghiasi

  4. Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Samira Sadat Abolmaali

Authors
  1. Vahid Alimardani
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  2. Ghazal Farahavar
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  3. Sepide Salehi
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  4. Saeed Taghizadeh
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  5. Moosa Rahimi Ghiasi
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  6. Samira Sadat Abolmaali
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samira Sadat Abolmaali.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest in this work.

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Alimardani, V., Farahavar, G., Salehi, S. et al. Gold nanocages in cancer diagnosis, therapy, and theranostics: A brief review. Front. Mater. Sci. 15, 494–511 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-021-0569-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-021-0569-1

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