8. Kaleidoscope of applications for gold nanoparticles

8.1 Advanced therapies

The subject of therapeutic applications of gold NPs is covered in detail in [NM 904] , but given its importance, we provide a brief overview here.

Cancer is not a single disease, but a group of diseases comprising more than 100 types of cancer. The common behavior among all of them is that certain cells in the body begin to divide uncontrollably and spread to surrounding tissues. Nanomedicine and the use of nanoparticles are just one of the current strategies for fighting cancer. To date, 120 clinical trials based on nanoparticles (for cancer or other diseases) have been conducted worldwide.

Among these studies, one is of particular...