DEVELOPMENT OF FUNCTIONAL GOLD NANOMATERIALS FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Nanotechnology application in medicine opens possibilities to address several clinical challenges. Firstly, mutated tumor-suppressor protein is associated with most human cancers. Further, antibiotics are becoming less effective to treat bacterial infections due to antibiotic resistance. Besides, huge side effects accompany chemotherapeutics usage in cancer treatment due to the non-specific targeting of the diseased tissues. Hence, developing platforms to tackle challenges is crucial. The primary goal of this thesis was to develop functional gold nanomaterials to diagnose the mutation associated with tumor suppressor protein, improve antibiotics efficacy screening and increase delivery of chemotherapeutic. Herein, we have proven that DNA conjugated gold nanoparticles can discriminate diseased cell from healthy cells. Moreover, gold nanoparticles aggregation was demonstrated to be an effective tool to quickly screen antibiotics efficacy. Finally, it was revealed that RNA aptamer coated gold nanoparticles improved doxorubicin internalization in cancer cells.