<![CDATA[Background: Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are promising drug nanocarriers due to tunable physicochemical properties, surface functionalization, colloidal stability, and biological interactions. These characteristics may improve drug delivery and therapeutic efficacy.Objective: This review aimed to evaluate AuNP-drug conjugation strategies, therapeutic applications, safety profiles, and challenges that remain for clinical implementation. Methods: A narrative review was performed using PubMed. This review summarized the in vitro and in vivo studies published in English from 2014 to 2025 on AuNP loading or conjugation with drugs. We excluded reviews, conference abstracts, duplicate studies, and studies that did not have relevant therapeutic or safety outcomes.Results: AuNP-based systems exhibit superior therapeutic efficacy in antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antidiabetic, and anticancer applications. The effects are associated with enhanced stability of the drug, cellular uptake, accumulation at the target site, controlled release, membrane disruption, and modulation of oxidative stress. Efficacy and safety are affected by particle size, morphology, surface charge, coating, and functionalization. However, differences in synthesis, characterization, experimental models, toxicity assessment, biodistribution, and clearance limited comparison among studies.Conclusion: AuNPs are versatile nanocarriers with high therapeutic potential, but standardization of the production processes, long-term safety evaluation, and regulatory guidelines are still required.]]>
