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Volume 4
Nano Research & Applications
ISSN: 2471-9838
Page 81
JOINT EVENT
August 16-18, 2018 | Dublin, Ireland
&
12
th
Edition of International Conference on
Nanopharmaceutics and Advanced Drug Delivery
25
th
Nano Congress for
Future Advancements
Nano Congress 2018
&
Nano Drug Delivery 2018
August 16-18, 2018
Cancer nanotechnology: Gold nanostructures as a platform for combinational therapy in future cancer
therapeutics
Devika Chithrani
University of Victoria, Canada
T
he field of nanotechnology is currently undergoing explosive development on many fronts. The technology is expected
to generate innovations and play a critical role in cancer therapeutics. Among other nanoparticle (NP) systems, there has
been tremendous progress made in the use of gold nanostructures in cancer therapeutics. In treating cancer, radiation therapy
and chemotherapy remain the most widely used treatment options and recent developments in cancer research show that the
incorporation of GNPs into these protocols has enhanced tumor cell killing. These nanostructures further provide strategies
for better loading, targeting, and controlling the release of drugs to minimize the side effects of highly toxic anticancer drugs
used in chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy. In addition, the heat generation capability of gold nanostructures upon
exposure to UV or near infrared light is being used to damage tumor cells locally in photothermal therapy. Hence, gold
nanostructures provide a versatile platform to integrate many therapeutic options leading to effective combinational therapy
in the fight against cancer. In this presentation, the recent progress in the development of gold-based nanostructures towards
improved therapeutics will be discussed. A multifunctional platform based on gold nanostructures with targeting ligands,
therapeutic molecules, and imaging contrast agents, holds an array of promising directions for cancer research.
devikac@uvic.caNano Res Appl 2018, Volume 4
DOI: 10.21767/2471-9838-C3-015