Benzeneselenol-modified gold nanoclusters for cancer therapy.

We report benzeneselenol-modified gold nanoclusters (Se_Au NCs) that have significant anticancer activity by inducing autophagy and disassembly of F-actin in cancer cells. Upon treatment of different tumor models on mice, it has been found that Se_Au NCs exhibit excellent antitumor efficacy, high stability, and extremely low toxicity, which are the requirements for an ideal antineoplastic drug. Our study is a successful attempt in exploring novel anticancer agents with high biosafety.