ABSTRACT
In the past decade, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have attracted strong interest from the nanobiotechnological community owing to the significant progress made in the development of robust and easy-to-make synthesis technologies, in surface functionalization, and in promising biomedical applications. These include bioimaging, genodiagnostics, analytical sensing, photothermal treatment of tumors, and targeted delivery of various biomolecular and chemical cargos. For the last-named application, GNPs should be properly fabricated to deliver the cargo within the targeted cells through effective endocytosis. In Chapter 4, we discuss the recent progress in understanding of how the size, shape, and surface properties of GNPs affect their uptake and intracellular fate. In particular, the selective penetration of GNPs into cancer and immune cells is discussed. We also discuss recent theoretical models for endocytosis of spherical and nonspherical particles in relation to experimental data on the effects of particle geometry, ligand density, and cell membrane properties.
