Abstract
Noble metals have played an integral part in human history for centuries; however, their integration with recent advances in nanotechnology and material sciences have provided new research opportunities in both academia and industry, which has resulted in a new array of advanced applications, including medical ones. Noble metal nanoparticles (NMNPs) have been of great importance in the field of biomedicine over the past few decades due to their importance in personalized healthcare and diagnostics. In particular, platinum, gold and silver nanoparticles have achieved the most dominant spot in the list, thanks to a very diverse range of industrial applications, including biomedical ones such as antimicrobial and antiviral agents, diagnostics, drug carriers and imaging probes. In particular, their superior resistance to extreme conditions of corrosion and oxidation is highly appreciated. Notably, in the past two decades there has been a tremendous advancement in the development of new strategies of more cost-effective and robust NMNP synthesis methods that provide materials with highly tunable physicochemical, optical and thermal properties, and biochemical functionalities. As a result, new advanced hybrid NMNPs with polymer, graphene, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots and core–shell systems have been developed with even more enhanced physicochemical characteristics that has led to exceptional diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In this review, we aim to summarize current advances in the synthesis of NMNPs (Au, Ag and Pt).
Highlights
Noble metals have been in use for a very long time, dating back to the first Egyptian civilization, and have always been viewed as a sign of superior power and wealth
The technological leap in synthesizing and controlling metals at the nanoscale level has provided immense research opportunities to progress in personalized healthcare, diagnostics and therapies [9–11]
We provide a survey on the synthesis methodologies of Noble metal nanoparticles (NMNPs) (Ag, Au and Pt) and Noble metal composites (NMNCs) along with their current developments in biomedical applications as therapeutics and diagnostics, including the synergism exhibited by NMNCs with NMNPs in terms of improved performance, which is a current hot topic in materials research
Summary
Noble metals have been in use for a very long time, dating back to the first Egyptian civilization, and have always been viewed as a sign of superior power and wealth As a result, they can be seen in history in the form of expensive artworks, coins, jewels, etc. These metals generally tend to be more expensive than others because of their availability in the Earth’s crust [2, 3] Due to their robust nature, resistance to extreme conditions of corrosion and oxidation, they have been widely used in the aerospace, automotive, chemical, energy, electrical and electronics industry and more importantly healthcare (from surgical equipment to contrast enhancers in imaging) [4, 5]. As for biomedical applications, NMNPs became a natural pick due to their resistance to harsh environments They have been applied in highly sensitive diagnostic assays, as thermal ablation enhancers in radiotherapy, and as drug and gene delivery vehicles [3, 12, 13]
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