Nanobiomaterial: Hybrid Gold and Silver Nanoparticles (AuNPs and AgNPs) as Non-viral Gene Delivery Vehicles

Abstract

Hybrid gold and silver nanoparticles (AuNPs and AgNPs) are known as chemically or biologically engineered nanomaterials that have size dimension in the range of 1-100 nm. Nanosized materials are exhibited various novel properties like site-specific reactivity, greater sensing capability and increased mechanical strength which offered their easy, safe, fast, efficient and cost effective synthesis. Previously, various nanosized formulations and dispersions of conjugated or hybrid gold and silver metals have been proposed for targeted drug delivery by well known pharmaceutical companies. These hybrid nanobiomaterials have also been used in tissue engineering, protein detection, cancer therapy, multicolour optical coding for biological assay at genome level. Recently, nonviral gene therapy is going to be proposed as a promising therapeutic modality for the treatment of genetic, metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders. Their nonviral approaches has been found to be an excellent and safe alternative gene transferring vehicles to the popular viral vectors due to having significant favourable properties such as non-immunogenicity, low toxicity, and potential tissue specificity and effective targeted drug delivery. As well as, these hybrid nonviral mediated clinical and genetic approaches have been tested in preclinical studies and human clinical trials over the last decade which may prove more potent drug and safe gene/drug/nucleic acid delivery carriers for combating various types of cancers and epidemics worldwide.