Mechanisms of Reactive Oxygen Species Generated by Inorganic Nanomaterials for Cancer Therapeutics

Abstract

Recently, inorganic nanomaterials have received considerable attention for use in biomedical applications owing to their unique physicochemical properties based on their shapes, sizes, and surface characteristics. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), sonodynamic therapy (SDT), and chemical dynamic therapy (CDT), which are cancer therapeutics mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS), have the potential to significantly enhance the therapeutic precision and efficacy for cancer. To facilitate cancer therapeutics, numerous inorganic nanomaterials have been developed to generate ROS. This mini review provides an overview of the generation mechanisms of ROS by representative inorganic nanomaterials for cancer therapeutics, including the structures of engineered inorganic nanomaterials, ROS production conditions, ROS types, and the applications of the inorganic nanomaterials in cancer PDT, SDT, and CDT.

Size Tuning, Phase Stabilization, and Anticancer Efficacy of Amorphous Selenium Nanoparticles: Effect of Ion-Pair Interaction, −OH Functionalization, and Reuse of RTILs as Host Matrix

“…However, it is also expected that smaller NPs possess a higher surface area and thus have a higher concentration of active sites and structural defects. 88,89 Consequently, the reactivity of smaller NPs can be anticipated to be more than the larger ones. Recently, the anticancer properties of Se NPs have been reported by other researchers also and several mechanisms have been suggested for the same, including apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, interruption of the cell signaling pathway or some other ROS (reactive oxygen species)-mediated route.…”

“…Apparently, the anticancer efficacy of Se NPs increased with decreasing particle size. ,, The probable reason might be the better cellular uptake in case of NPs with smaller dimensions, as has been reported in literature. However, it is also expected that smaller NPs possess a higher surface area and thus have a higher concentration of active sites and structural defects. , Consequently, the reactivity of smaller NPs can be anticipated to be more than the larger ones. Recently, the anticancer properties of Se NPs have been reported by other researchers also and several mechanisms have been suggested for the same, including apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, interruption of the cell signaling pathway or some other ROS (reactive oxygen species)-mediated route. − ,, It is therefore highly likely that these mechanisms could be more effective in the presence of smaller NPs than larger ones.…”

Green fluorescent carbon dots as targeting probes for LED‐dependent bacterial killing

“…[18] Moreover, it has been shown that FCDs can produce ROS upon photoexcitation owning to the band-edge defect effect and that the photosensitization performance of FCDs is also dependent on the surface functionalization and irradiation source. [19] Thus the superoxide indicator dihydroethidium (DHE, for which a decrease in fluorescence on oxidation indicates ROS production) was used to monitor ROS formation in LED and FCD treated bacteria. For both E. coli and S. aureus the fluorescence intensity of DHE for FCD-incubated (200 µg/mL) bacteria after 90 minutes of LED illumination was significantly lower (by 46% compared to DHE controls) than that of cultures treated with FCDs but in the absence of LED illumination (t-test p = 0.0007 and p = 0.0008 respectively) (Figure 3B).…”

Effective Combinations of Immunotherapy and Radiotherapy for Cancer Treatment

“…Inorganic nanomaterials have unique optical, electrical, and magnetic properties. Therefore, they usually have the effect of photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) in tumor immunotherapy (131), which is a suitable drug carrier as well as tumor therapeutic agent. Zhang et al developed a new type of gold nanoparticle (AuNP) for tumor photothermal and immunotherapy.…”