Gold nanoparticles in medicine: companies, startups and research

The facts list 250 companies and 8 startups, with Sona Nanotech among the named commercial developers in recent news. In April 2026, Sona reported a peer-reviewed preclinical study of its cancer therapy combined with immunotherapy. The available company data do not identify a comprehensive set of manufacturers or suppliers, so the named activity is not a complete commercial roster.

Chinese Academy of Sciences CAS, Jilin University and National University of Singapore are prominent research organizations in the supplied facts. Chinese Academy of Sciences CAS has 125 documents in the 24-month window, while Jilin University has 71 and National University of Singapore has 38. Their work includes wound-treatment microneedles, phototherapy and DNA-barcoded particles for targeted cancer therapy.

Funding data record $25.4 million across 60 grants since 2020, plus 13 funding rounds totaling $804.3 million. These are separate grant and round metrics. The available figures do not identify the recipients or establish that every recorded award or round directly funds gold nanoparticle medical development, so they should be treated as landscape-level funding indicators.

Aithenutrigene Co. is the leading named patent holder, with 5 patents in the supplied facts. Boston Scientific Scimed has 3, while University of Kansas, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Novamab, Guangzhou First Peoples Hospital, EVŌQ nano and Rochal Technologies LLC each have 2. These counts identify listed holders, not the full patent landscape.

No: patent activity declined 30% in the last 12 months compared with the previous 12 months, with 102 patents in the 24-month window. Publication activity moved in the opposite direction, growing 3% to 3,440 publications in the last year. The different trends suggest sustained research alongside weaker recent patenting, rather than a uniform rise across development activity.

The field remains research-heavy: the facts record 2,366 research organizations and 12 clinical trials in total. Publications reached 3,440 in 2025, while patent activity declined 30% in the latest 12-month comparison. Recent work spans sensing, imaging and treatment, but the available figures indicate that laboratory development is more prominent than clinical testing.

Recent developments include a September 2026 amplification-free gold nanoparticle–nanocluster platform for distinguishing SMN1 and BSA-stabilized nanospheres for combined melanoma phototherapy. In May 2026, National University of Singapore researchers reported using DNA barcodes to identify particles capable of delivering therapies to mitochondria. These examples point toward more selective diagnostics and targeted, multimodal treatment.

The five main approaches are plasmonic biosensing, imaging and contrast, light-activated therapy, therapeutic delivery and therapeutic adjuvants. Biosensing and imaging convert particle interactions into detectable signals; light-activated therapy uses absorbed light to produce a therapeutic effect. Delivery systems carry drugs or nucleic acids, while adjuvants pair gold particles with other treatments. Each approach trades added functionality against challenges in targeting, safety or formulation.

China leads with 11,531 documents, or 35.5% of the total in the country breakdown. The United States follows with 6,170 documents and a 19.0% share, and India ranks next with 3,571 documents. South Korea, Iran and the United Kingdom are also among the countries with substantial activity in the supplied data.

The main applications are oncology, point-of-care diagnostics, medical imaging, antimicrobial medicine, and fibrosis and organ disease. Oncology has 1,033 documents and point-of-care diagnostics has 892, while medical imaging has 206. Research examples include targeted cancer therapy, biomarker sensing, contrast agents and antimicrobial formulations; the facts also identify emerging work on fibrosis and organ disease.