Fig. 4

Representation of potential features of nanotechnology as precise and efficient tool in cancer therapy. (a) Cell viability assay after treatment of NIH: OVCAR-3 cells with FA coated and uncoated nanoparticles. A superior biocompatibility via FA targeted therapy was demonstrated in comparison to non-targeted ones. (b) Red dots inside the AuNC-incubated cells (Fig. 5(B–C)) show that a substantial portion of AuNCs were able to pass through the cell membrane and gather inside the cytoplasm, mostly in the perinuclear area. The nuclei are shown by the black zone that the red emission of AuNCs outlines, demonstrating that AuNCs cannot penetrate the nuclear membrane. FA based therapy again showed better internalization. (c) the fluorescence lifetime maps confirms the uptake by FA conjugated gold nanoparticle [128]