Smart Nanoparticles in Biomedicine: An Overview of Recent Developments and Applications

Abstract

Nanotechnology is an emerging field of modern science based on the use of nanoparticles (NPs) with a huge potential in many sectors, including nanomedicine. Their small size confers them unique properties because they are subject to physical laws that are in the middle between classical and quantum physics. In this context, NPs project plays a pivotal role because the composition, size, shape and surface proprieties need to be carefully considered for their optimal design and application. As reported in this review, NPs are classified in inorganic (metallic NPs; quantum dots; carbon-based nanostructures; mesoporous silica nanoparticles) and organic (liposomes and micelles, dendrimers and polymer nanoparticles) ones. Here, we report an accurate description of the potential of each NPs type focusing on their multiple areas of application like theranostics drug delivery, imaging, tissue engineering, antimicrobial techniques and nanovaccines, and therefore they represent a promise to revolutionize the new era of nanomedicine, especially in cancer research.

Involvement of Resveratrol against Brain Cancer: A Combination Strategy with a Pharmaceutical Approach

“…They are nontoxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable, which are the most important criteria for designing nanoparticles for biological purposes. Furthermore, functionalizing these nanoparticles and transforming them into smart delivery systems is a rather simple process [ 140 ].…”

Dual Drug Loaded Nanotheranostic Platforms as a Novel Synergistic Approach to Improve Pancreatic Cancer Treatment

“…Rapid growth in bionanotechnologies applied to cancer therapy has resulted in the development of various nanomedicine products [19,20] and in the implementation of novel theranostic approaches. [21,22] In particular, nanoparticles (NPs) [19,[23][24][25][26][27][28] and more specifically zinc oxide nanocrystals (ZnO-NCs) have shown great potential application in vitro as well as in vivo for targeted therapy, due to their biocompatibility and pH-sensitivity, that assure effective endosomal drug release. [29][30][31] Moreover, ZnO-NCs can be probed for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) when doped with metals or rare earth elements (i.e., gadolinium), [32] which might help the detection of drug-loaded NPs in deep-seated tumors such as pancreatic cancer.…”