New Delhi, Oct 4 (IANS): A site-specific drug delivery method using gold nanoparticles can improve management and treatment of cancer.

As per the Ministry of Science and Technology, researchers at Amity University, Jaipur, have developed therapeutic agents with the help of nano-biotechnological approaches using a unique solution of 'gold nanoparticles' that helps to improve site-specific drug delivery for cancer disease management and its effective treatment.

Some of the important physicochemical characterisation and biological studies of gold nanoparticles were performed on Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), fluorescent microscopy facilities acquired through the Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST) programme of the Department of Science and Technology, government of India.

The study will open new opportunities for better cancer management and treatment, and pave way for future nanomedicine even beyond cancer.

There are more than 200 different types of cancers which are currently being treated through surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Many of these cancers can be cured if detected early and treated effectively. However, the available treatments are time-taking, expensive, and trigger numerous other side-effects and the actual health benefits of the therapy do not reach the cancer patients effectively.

Hemant Kumar Daima, Akhela Umapathi and S.L. Kothari from the Amity Centre for Nanobiotechnology and Nanomedicine (ACNN) have formulated the gold nanoparticles solution with a distinctive functional surface containing biomolecules and antibiotics for improved anti-cancer activity through selective generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

The results have revealed that the appropriate surface corona on the gold nanoparticles was essential for effective cancer treatment in a selective manner.

The research was extended towards lung cancer cells using functional silver nanoparticles and selective anti-cancer effect originating from surface chemistry of silver nanoparticles was demonstrated in a paper published in the study 'Colloids and Surfaces: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects'.

Officials said that the research was a global effort with researchers from University of Miyazaki, Japan, and RMIT University, Australia, actively participating in it. Now, the team is planning clinical studies on the formulated nanoparticles.