Magnetic particles decorated with gold nanoclusters as a potential agent for cancer theranostics

Abstract

For the last two decades magnetic nanoparticles have been in the spotlight of the great importance and have been widely used for various applications due to their specific characteristics and promising applications. Due to their multifunctional properties, magnetic nanoparticles decorated with gold nanoclusters can be implied and used in numerous applications such as biomedicine and cancer diagnostics and therapy (theranostics). In order to evaluate the possible implementations of these nanoparticles in nanomedicine a wide range of experiments have been conducted in this study. First, we assessed both optical and magnetic properties and tested colloidal stability before further experimentation in vitro. Uptake dynamics and biodistribution of magnetic nanoparticles decorated with gold nanoclusters at subcellular level were carried out using confocal fluorescence microscopy. Cytotoxicity assessment performed with various cell lines showed no cytotoxic effects. Thus, the results of this study highlights the promising potential of such, gold nanoclusters-decorated magnetic nanoparticles, for effective integration in bimodal diagnostics and therapy in cancer treatment.