REVIEW: Biomedical Applications of Multifunctional Gold-Based Nanocomposites

---

L. A. Dykman^1,2 and N. G. Khlebtsov^1,2*

¹Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, 410049 Saratov, Russia

²Chernyshevsky Saratov State University, 410012 Saratov, Russia; E-mail: khlebtsov@ibppm.ru

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received July 11, 2016; Revision received July 31, 2016

---

Active application of gold nanoparticles for various diagnostic and therapeutic purposes started in recent decades due to the emergence of new data on their unique optical and physicochemical properties. In addition to colloidal gold conjugates, growth in the number of publications devoted to the synthesis and application of multifunctional nanocomposites has occurred in recent years. This review considers the application in biomedicine of multifunctional nanoparticles that can be produced in three different ways. The first method involves design of composite nanostructures with various components intended for either diagnostic or therapeutic functions. The second approach uses new bioconjugation techniques that allow functionalization of gold nanoparticles with various molecules, thus combining diagnostic and therapeutic functions in one medical procedure. Finally, the third method for production of multifunctional nanoparticles combines the first two approaches, in which a composite nanoparticle is additionally functionalized by molecules having different properties.

---

KEY WORDS: biomedicine, colloidal gold, nanocomposites, multifunctionality

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297916130125

---