Harnessing Metal Nanoparticles: Revolutionizing Cancer Therapy Through Targeted Drug Delivery and Tumor Microenvironment Modulation.

Dudhat, Kiran

Cancer remains a significant global health burden, claiming countless lives annually and incurring substantial direct and indirect economic costs. Despite advancements in therapeutic modalities, conventional cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, are often hampered by limitations such as insufficient efficacy, dose-dependent side effects, high costs and patient tolerability. This has spurred extensive research into novel therapeutic approaches for this life-threatening disease. Metal nanoparticles (MNPs) have emerged as promising tools in cancer therapy due to their unique physicochemical properties spanning the past two decades. Owing to their size similarity to biological molecules, MNPs possess the inherent ability to penetrate cellular barriers, making them ideal carriers for targeted drug delivery. These multifunctional nanoplatforms offer distinct advantages over conventional therapeutics by enabling targeted delivery of anticancer agents to specific tumor sites, thereby enhancing therapeutic efficacy and minimizing systemic side effects. Photodynamic therapy and sonodynamic therapy represent particularly promising strategies that leverage MNPs for cancer treatment. This review delves into the potential applications of MNPs in modulating the tumor microenvironment, paving the way for the exploration of this vast and rapidly evolving field of nanomedicine. Advancements in nanotechnology have led to the development of various metallic nanoparticles including gold, silver, platinum, zinc, palladium, and iron which play crucial roles in tumor diagnostics and treatment. These nanoparticles leverage surface plasmon resonance to enhance the detection and targeting of tumor cells, offering new possibilities in cancer therapy and personalized medicine.

TARGETED drug delivery; METAL nanoparticles; THERAPEUTICS; SURFACE plasmon resonance; CANCER treatment; PLATINUM

NANO (1793-2920), 2024, Vol 19, Issue 10, p1

1793-2920

Academic Journal

10.1142/S1793292024300081