Recent nanotheranostics applications for cancer therapy and diagnosis: A review

Radioprotective Effect of Selenium Nanoparticles: A Mini Review

Materials and Methods

This study followed the PRISMA reporting guidelines to present the results. A comprehensive search was performed on electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Science Direct. Initially, 413 articles were retrieved. After removing duplicates and applying specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, 10 articles were finally included in this systematic review.

Results

The reviewed studies showed that selenium nanoparticles had anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. They effectively protected the kidneys, liver, and testicles from damage. Furthermore, there was evidence of efficient radioprotection for the organs examined without significant side effects.

Conclusions

This systematic review emphasizes the potential advantages of using selenium nanoparticles to prevent the negative effects of ionizing radiation. Importantly, these protective effects were achieved without causing noticeable side effects. These findings suggest the potential role of selenium nanoparticles as radioprotective agents, offering possible therapeutic applications to reduce the risks related to ionizing radiation exposure in medical imaging and radiotherapy procedures.

Recent nanotheranostic approaches in cancer research

Humanity is suffering from cancer which has become a root cause of untimely deaths of individuals around the globe in the recent past. Nanotheranostics integrates therapeutics and diagnostics to monitor treatment response and enhance drug efficacy and safety. We hereby propose to discuss all recent cancer imaging and diagnostic tools, the mechanism of targeting tumor cells, and current nanotheranostic platforms available for cancer. This review discusses various nanotheranostic agents and novel molecular imaging tools like MRI, CT, PET, SPEC, and PAT used for cancer diagnostics. Emphasis is given to gold nanoparticles, silica, liposomes, dendrimers, and metal-based agents. We also highlight the mechanism of targeting the tumor cells, and the limitations of different nanotheranostic agents in the field of research for cancer treatment. Due to the complexity in this area, multifunctional and hybrid nanoparticles functionalized with targeted moieties or anti-cancer drugs show the best feature for theranostics that enables them to work on carrying and delivering active materials to the desired area of the requirement for early detection and diagnosis. Non-invasive imaging techniques have a specificity of receptor binding and internalization processes of the nanosystems within the cancer cells. Nanotheranostics may provide the appropriate medicine at the appropriate dose to the appropriate patient at the appropriate time.

A review of bismuth-based nanoparticles and their applications in radiosensitising and dose enhancement for cancer radiation therapy

About 50% of cancer patients receive radiation therapy. Despite the therapeutic benefits of this method, the toxicity of radiation in the normal tissues is unavoidable To improve the quality of radiation therapy, in addition to other methods such as IMRT, IGRT, and high radiation dose, nanoparticles have shown excellent potential when ionising radiation is applied to the target volume. Recently, bismuth-based nanoparticles (BiNPs) have become particularly popular in radiation therapy due to their high atomic numbers (Z), high X-ray attenuation coefficient, low toxicity, and low cost. Moreover, it is easy to synthesise in a variety of sizes and shapes. This study aimed to review the effects of the bismuth-based NP and its combination with other compounds, and their potential synergies in radiotherapy, discussed based on their physical, chemical, and biological interactions. Targeted and non-targeted bismuth-based NPs used in radiotherapy as radiosensitizers and dose enhancement effects are described. The results reported in the literature were categorised into various groups. Also, this review has highlighted the importance of bismuth-based NPs in different forms of cancer treatment to find the highest efficiency for applying them as a suitable candidate for various cancer therapy and future clinical applications.

Chitosan-Imidazolium Core-Shell Nanoparticles of Gd-Mn-Mo Polyoxometalate as Novel Potential MRI Nano-Agent for Breast Cancer Detection

Polyoxometalates (POMs) are mineral nanoclusters with many advantages in various diagnostic fields, in particular cancer detection. This study aimed to synthesize and evaluate the performance of gadolinium-manganese-molybdenum polyoxometalate (Gd-Mn-Mo; POM) nanoparticles coated with chitosan-imidazolium (POM@CSIm NPs) for detecting 4T1 breast cancer cells by magnetic resonance imaging in vitro and in vivo. The POM@Cs-Im NPs were fabricated and characterized by FTIR, ICP-OES, CHNS, UV-visible, XRD, VSM, DLS, Zeta potential, and SEM. Cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, and MR imaging in vivo and in vitro of L929 and 4T1 cells were also assessed. The efficacy of nanoclusters was demonstrated using MR images of BALB/C mice bearing a 4T1 tumor in vivo. The evaluation of the in vitro cytotoxicity of the designed NPs showed their high biocompatibility. In fluorescence imaging and flow cytometry, NPs had a higher uptake rate by 4T1 than L929 (p < 0.05). Furthermore, NPs significantly increased the signal strength of MR images, and its relaxivity (r1) was calculated as 4.71 mM^-1 s^-1. MR imaging also confirmed the attachment of nanoclusters to cancer cells and their selective accumulation in the tumor region. Overall, the results showed that fabricated POM@CSIm NPs have considerable potential as an MR imaging nano-agent for early 4T1 cancer detection.

Recent Metal Nanotheranostics for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy: A Review

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in using nanoparticles in the medical sciences. Today, metal nanoparticles have many applications in medicine for tumor visualization, drug delivery, and early diagnosis, with different modalities such as X-ray imaging, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), etc., and treatment with radiation. This paper reviews recent findings of recent metal nanotheranostics in medical imaging and therapy. The study offers some critical insights into using different types of metal nanoparticles in medicine for cancer detection and treatment purposes. The data of this review study were gathered from multiple scientific citation websites such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science up through the end of January 2023. In the literature, many metal nanoparticles are used for medical applications. However, due to their high abundance, low price, and high performance for visualization and treatment, nanoparticles such as gold, bismuth, tungsten, tantalum, ytterbium, gadolinium, silver, iron, platinum, and lead have been investigated in this review study. This paper has highlighted the importance of gold, gadolinium, and iron-based metal nanoparticles in different forms for tumor visualization and treatment in medical applications due to their ease of functionalization, low toxicity, and superior biocompatibility.

Low-dimensional nanomaterials as an emerging platform for cancer diagnosis and therapy

The burden of cancer is increasing, being widely recognized as one of the main reasons for deaths among humans. Despite the tremendous efforts that have been made worldwide to stem the progression and metastasis of cancer, morbidity and mortality in malignant tumors have been clearly rising and threatening human health. In recent years, nanomedicine has come to occupy an increasingly important position in precision oncotherapy, which improves the diagnosis, treatment, and long-term prognosis of cancer. In particular, LDNs with distinctive physicochemical capabilities have provided great potential for advanced biomedical applications, attributed to their large surface area, abundant surface binding sites, and good cellular permeation properties. In addition, LDNs can integrate CT/MR/US/PAI and PTT/PDT/CDT/NDDS into a multimodal theranostic nanoplatform, enabling targeted therapy and efficacy assessments for cancer. This review attempts to concisely summarize the classification and major properties of LDNs. Simultaneously, we particularly emphasize their applications in the imaging, diagnosis, and treatment of cancerous diseases.

Ultrasound nanotheranostics: Toward precision medicine

Ultrasound (US) is a mechanical wave that can penetrate biological tissues and trigger complex bioeffects. The mechanisms of US in different diagnosis and treatment are different, and the functional application of commercial US is also expanding. In particular, recent developments in nanotechnology have led to a wider use of US in precision medicine. In this review, we focus on US in combination with versatile micro and nanoparticles (NPs)/nanovesicles for tumor theranostics. We first introduce US-assisted drug delivery as a stimulus-responsive approach that spatiotemporally regulates the deposit of nanomedicines in target tissues. Multiple functionalized NPs and their US-regulated drug-release curves are analyzed in detail. Moreover, as a typical representative of US therapy, sonodynamic antitumor strategy is attracting researchers' attention. The collaborative efficiency and mechanisms of US and various nano-sensitizers such as nano-porphyrins and organic/inorganic nanosized sensitizers are outlined in this paper. A series of physicochemical processes during ultrasonic cavitation and NPs activation are also discussed. Finally, the new applications of US and diagnostic NPs in tumor-monitoring and image-guided combined therapy are summarized. Diagnostic NPs contain substances with imaging properties that enhance US contrast and photoacoustic imaging. The development of such high-resolution, low-background US-based imaging methods has contributed to modern precision medicine. It is expected that the integration of non-invasive US and nanotechnology will lead to significant breakthroughs in future clinical applications.

Current status of Cancer Nanotheranostics: Emerging strategies for cancer management

Cancer diagnosis and management have been a slow-evolving area in medical science. Conventional therapies have by far proved to have various limitations. Also, the concept of immunotherapy which was thought to revolutionize the management of cancer has presented its range of drawbacks. To overcome these limitations nanoparticulate-derived diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are emerging. These nanomaterials are to be explored as they serve as a prospect for cancer theranostics. Nanoparticles have a significant yet unclear role in screening as well as therapy of cancer. However, nanogels and Photodynamic therapy is one such approach to be developed in cancer theranostics. Photoactive cancer theranostics is a vivid area that might prove to help manage cancer. Also, the utilization of the quantum dots as a diagnostic tool and to selectively kill cancer cells, especially in CNS tumors. Additionally, the redox-sensitive micelles targeting the tumor microenvironment of the cancer are also an important theranostic tool. This review focuses on exploring various agents that are currently being studied or can further be studied as cancer theranostics.