Gold nanoarchitectonics: promising nano-therapeutic platforms for multiple sclerosis treatment

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease that disrupts the central nervous system (CNS), characterized by focal demyelination, inflammation, neuronal damage, and gliosis. Nanotechnology has introduced innovative strategies for delivering treatments to the CNS in MS. This review focuses on the potential of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) as a new approach for treating MS. Their unique properties such as ease of synthesis in various sizes, shapes, and charges, along with stability, high drug-loading capacity, and the ability to modify their surfaces combined with their biocompatibility, make them attractive for treating autoimmune diseases like MS. GNPs can help reduce inflammatory factors, lower nitrite species, decrease reactive oxygen species, and deliver therapeutic agents. Current GNP-based treatments aim to reduce further demyelination, control inflammation, and modulate the immune system, ultimately helping to prevent disability. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) using GNPs, which target T and B cells as well as leukocytes outside the CNS, have shown significant potential in preventing demyelination and reducing disease burden. Furthermore, GNP-based therapeutic approaches have demonstrated promising remyelination potential in preclinical models, alongside favorable safety, tolerability, and metabolic target engagement in early-phase clinical evaluations. These nanoparticles exhibit anti-inflammatory and anti-demyelinating effects and contribute to remyelination in the CNS. These characteristics suggest that GNPs could play a key role in the development of more effective, long-lasting treatments for MS. This review first discusses the limitations of MS treatments using other nanoparticles, then explores various GNP-based strategies, including their anti-inflammatory and anti-demyelinating effects and their potential to enhance remyelination in the CNS. It also considers their clinical applications. These insights lay the groundwork for developing future drug carriers based on GNPs, which could overcome biological barriers and improve therapeutic efficacy.