# Gold Nanoparticle-Based Precision Medicine Strategies for Glioblastoma: Current Biomedical Applications and Future Outlook

## TL;DR

Gold nanoparticles offer a promising precision medicine approach for treating glioblastoma by enabling targeted drug delivery, imaging, and therapy enhancement.

## Contribution

This paper reviews the biomedical applications of gold nanoparticles in glioblastoma precision medicine, highlighting their potential for personalized treatment strategies.

## Key findings

- Gold nanoparticles can deliver chemotherapeutics, genes, and immunotherapeutics for glioblastoma therapy.
- AuNPs enable site-selective targeting of GBM cells and the tumor microenvironment through ligand-targeting and stimuli-responsiveness.
- AuNPs have unique optical properties that aid in imaging and photothermal therapy for GBM.

## Abstract

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant primary brain tumor among adults and one of the deadliest human cancers. Its infiltrative growth pattern, high intratumor heterogeneity, and the existence of the blood–brain barrier severely limits current treatment approaches. Precision medicine-guided treatment decision-making based on unique molecular characteristics of patients’ tumors and tumor microenvironments is highly desired. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are promising nanoplatforms that enable precision medicine and personalized treatments for GBM. Their size- and shape-dependent tunable physiochemical properties, ease of surface functionalization, unique optical/electronic properties, and biocompatibility have facilitated the development of AuNP-based multimodal agents with the capability of delivering therapies, molecular imaging, and diagnosis in one platform. Recent research has shown that AuNPs can deliver chemotherapeutics, genes, and immunotherapeutics and aid in imaging, radiosensitization, and photothermal therapy for GBM therapy. Ligand-targeted and stimuli-responsive AuNPs enable site-selective targeting of GBM cells and the tumor microenvironment, allowing for personalized medicine approaches. Here, we review the progress made in biomedical applications of AuNPs for GBM treatment with a focus on precision-based drug/gene delivery, diagnosis/imaging, and therapy enhancement. We also discuss safety, biodistribution, scalability for translation, and regulatory challenges that need to be addressed for AuNP development. Future opportunities for AuNPs in personalizing GBM treatment are also highlighted.