Gold in Healthcare

Gold has a long history of being used for healthcare purposes. Ancient Egyptian and Indian cultures used the metal in medicinal preparations. At one time, the Chinese used gold to treat diseases such as smallpox and measles. Moving forward through history, medieval Europeans believed that because gold was so beautiful and rare, it had to have health benefits. Even today, some alternative medicines believe gold has a healing power. While there are some gold salts that have anti-inflammatory properties, and can be used in the treatment of conditions such as arthritis, elemental gold is inert to any chemicals it finds in the body.

Gold has proven to have health benefits in terms of medical devices because of its excellent biocompatibility. In addition to being used to make wires for pacemakers, gold has been used to make stents for the treatment of blocked arteries. One reason doctors value the metal for this purpose is its easy visibility on X-rays.

Gold is also very resistant to bacterial colonisation. This makes the material a good choice for implants that will be at a risk of infection. One example of gold’s use as an implant is in microsurgery of the ear, where the inner ear can become easily infected.

Gold is also being investigated for use in some cancer and HIV treatments, as well as in drug delivery microchips, which allows different drugs to be contained in a single microchip and the timing of the doses to be controlled by the doctor or through a biosensor.

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Gold was first discovered thousands of years ago in its natural state, in streams, which lead to mining all over the world. Its brilliance, natural beauty, great malleability and resistance to tarnish made it enjoyable to work with. Gold gave rise to the concept of money itself. Today gold is used for jewelry fabrication, industrial application, and medical uses, by governments and central banks and by private investors.