Gold Nanorods as Carriers for Anti-Cancer Drug

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death all over the world due to its high incidence, uncontrolled cell growth and recurrence/relapse. Traditionally, tumor resection and chemotherapy is of prime interest while treating cancer but they result in non-specific drug accumulation, systemic damage and resistance to these therapies. Among a variety of nanomaterials, metallic nanoparticle such as gold nanoparticles have gained much importance in past few years due to their applications in cancer theranostics and pharmaceutical industries. Gold Nanorods have gained importance recently due to their shape and unique optical and anisotropic properties. In this study, Seed-mediated approach was used for their synthesis. These nanorods were further verified by UV/Vis spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction patterns and Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy. Morphology and size were measured by microscopic analysis such as Scanning Electron Microscopy. Antimicrobial activity of gold nanorods was performed against strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pnuemoniae. The synthesized nanomaterials were identified as rod shaped with a size of around 50-100nm. FTIR spectra also indicated the presence of hydroxyl (OH), aliphatic groups, amide, stretching inorganic carbonate (-C=O), and alkyl halide functional groups on the AuNRs surface The activity of Gold Nanorods against 3 bacterial strains have shown promising results. DPPH inhibition assay revealed scavenging ability of nanorods compared with ascorbic acids at different concentrations. The in vitro evaluation of 4-Hydroxytamoxifen (4-OHT) and Hif 1-alpha inhibitor conjugation with Gold nanorods was carried out on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line through MTT assay. The therapeutic activity of drugs conjugated with AuNRs was slightly enhanced. These results provide rationale for further progress of AuNRs-assisted combination chemotherapy.