Biomedical applications and safety issues of gold nanoparticles

Recently, nanoparticles (NPs) are introduced to a broad range of biomedical applications including drug delivery, imaging, and sensors. With increased use of NPs and the emergence of consumer products containing NPs, there are growing concerns for the safety of NPs. Among many different types of NPs, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are popular materials for various biomedical applications. GNPs can be fabricated in various forms using different concentrations of growth-directing surfactant. In this mini-review, we summarize the recent advancements made in the field of safety and biomedical applications of GNPs, and show that GNPs can also be applied in the ablation of thyroid cancer remnants after surgery. © 2012 Korean Society of Environmental Risk Assessment and Health Science and Springer.