AUTHOR=Liu Yang , Yuan Hsiangkuo , Fales Andrew M., Register Janna K., Vo-Dinh Tuan TITLE=Multifunctional gold nanostars for molecular imaging and cancer therapy JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry VOLUME=3 YEAR=2015 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2015.00051 DOI=10.3389/fchem.2015.00051 ISSN=2296-2646 ABSTRACT=

Plasmonics-active gold nanoparticles offer excellent potential in molecular imaging and cancer therapy. Among them, gold nanostars (AuNS) exhibit cross-platform flexibility as multimodal contrast agents for macroscopic X-ray computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), as well as nanoprobes for photoacoustic tomography (PAT), two-photon photoluminescence (TPL), and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Their surfactant-free surface enables versatile functionalization to enhance cancer targeting, and allow triggered drug release. AuNS can also be used as an efficient platform for drug carrying, photothermal therapy, and photodynamic therapy (PDT). This review paper presents the latest progress regarding AuNS as a promising nanoplatform for cancer nanotheranostics. Future research directions with AuNS for biomedical applications will also be discussed.