Biosynthesis and Potential Applications of Silver and Gold Nanoparticles and Their Chitosan-Based Nanocomposites in Nanomedicine

Table 1

Brief descriptions about the applications of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in nanomedicine.

Application	Description
Photodynamic therapy	Near-infrared- (IR-) absorbing AuNPs produce heat when excited by light at wavelengths from 700 to 800 nm. Exposure of a tumor containing AuNPs to light at these wavelengths rapidly heats up the particles and thus destroys the tumor cells.
Drug-delivery agent	AuNPs have a large surface area, which enables adsorption of various molecules such as polymers, therapeutic agents, and targeting ligands on their surface.
Diagnostics	AuNPs are used to detect biomarkers of various diseases, including cancers and infectious agents as well as in the home pregnancy test.