Gold nanotech patents are skyrocketing

The effectiveness of gold in medical science continues to impress doctors and scientists around the world.

Gold nanoparticles, 100 billionths of a meter in diameter, are used in Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs), targeted drug and radiation delivery, air and water purification, and now even in solar cell technology in order to generate electricity.

For these reasons, the number of nano gold-related patents has skyrocketed over the past decade. Back in 2005, the excitement around nanotech patents led some analysts to call the activity a “gold rush,” but when it comes specifically to nano gold, the rush is now:

Discussing the role of nano gold in targeting prostate cancer via radiation treatment, Professor of Radiation Oncology at Newcastle University in Australia, Jim Denham, said the following:

“To me it’s one of the best things that’s happened in my medical practice. It’s rare to see something that works so dramatically.”

“We didn’t realise it was going to produce such a massive reduction in side effects.’’

And on the role of gold nanoparticles in cleaning a range of chlorinated compounds out of groundwater, including carcinogens, Professor Michael Wong of Rice University said the following:

‘We didn’t believe it at first, because the gold-palladium nanoparticles were just so much more efficient – a hundred times more efficient.”

Read more about gold nanotechnology here, in the World Gold Council’s feature ‘Gold continues to drive the nanotechnology revolution.’