Lipophilic-formulated gold porphyrin nanoparticles for chemotherapy

A concise review of metallic nanoparticles encapsulation methods and their potential use in anticancer therapy and medicine

Interest in the use of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) in medicine is constantly increasing. The key challenge to the introduction of NPs into anticancer treatment is to limit the contact of their surface with healthy cells and to enable specific targeting of certain tissues, for example, cancerous cells. These aspects have raised a question whether the recent methods of drug delivery allow restricting the contact of NPs with healthy and/or nontarget cells. NPs can be restricted by encapsulation, which involves entrapping them into organic layers. This review is the first to present the different approaches for the encapsulation of metallic NPs, using liposomes, dendrimers, and proteins. The types and methods of entrapping are shown in an accessible way, enriched with graphics, and the pros and cons of these methods are disputable. Furthermore, the potential uses of NP complexes in medicine are described.