Department of Chemical Engineering, 313 Snell Engineering Center, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA,
Centre of Advanced Materials (CAM), Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Int J Nanomedicine. 2019 Mar 11;14:1633-1657. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S184723. eCollection 2019.
Conventional cancer treatment techniques show several limitations including low or no specificity and consequently a low efficacy in discriminating between cancer cells and healthy cells. Recent nanotechnology developments have introduced smart and novel therapeutic nanomaterials that take advantage of various targeting approaches. The use of nanotechnology in medicine and, more specifically, drug delivery is set to spread even more rapidly than it has over the past two decades. Currently, many nanoparticles (NPs) are under investigation for drug delivery including those for cancer therapy. Targeted nanomaterials bind selectively to cancer cells and greatly affect them with only a minor effect on healthy cells. Gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs), specifically, have been identified as significant candidates for new cancer therapeutic modalities because of their biocompatibility, easy functionalization and fabrication, optical tunable characteristics, and chemophysical stability. In the last decade, there has been significant research on Au-NPs and their biomedical applications. Functionalized Au-NPs represent highly attractive and promising candidates for drug delivery, owing to their unique dimensions, tunable surface functionalities, and controllable drug release. Further, iron oxide NPs due to their "superparamagnetic" properties have been studied and have demonstrated successful employment in numerous applications. In targeted drug delivery systems, drug-loaded iron oxide NPs can accumulate at the tumor site with the aid of an external magnetic field. This can lead to incremental effectiveness in drug release to the tumor site and vanquish cancer cells without harming healthy cells. In order for the application of iron oxide NPs in the human body to be realized, they should be biodegradable and biocompatible to minimize toxicity. This review illustrates recent advances in the field drug and small molecule delivery such as fluorouracil, folic acid, doxorubicin, paclitaxel, and daunorubicin, specifically when using gold and iron oxide NPs as carriers of anticancer therapeutic agents.
传统的癌症治疗技术存在一些局限性，包括低特异性或无特异性，因此在区分癌细胞和健康细胞方面效果不佳。最近的纳米技术发展带来了智能和新颖的治疗性纳米材料，利用了各种靶向方法。纳米技术在医学中的应用，特别是在药物输送方面，预计将比过去二十年更快地普及。目前，许多纳米颗粒（NPs）正在被研究用于药物输送，包括用于癌症治疗的 NPs。靶向纳米材料选择性地与癌细胞结合，并对其产生重大影响，而对健康细胞的影响很小。金纳米颗粒（Au-NPs），特别是，由于其生物相容性、易于功能化和制造、光学可调谐特性和化学物理稳定性，已被确定为新的癌症治疗模式的重要候选物。在过去的十年中，对 Au-NPs 及其生物医学应用进行了大量研究。功能化 Au-NPs 代表了用于药物输送的极具吸引力和有前途的候选物，因为它们具有独特的尺寸、可调谐的表面功能和可控的药物释放。此外，由于其“超顺磁性”特性，氧化铁 NPs 已被研究并在许多应用中证明了其成功的应用。在靶向药物输送系统中，载药氧化铁 NPs 可以在外磁场的帮助下在肿瘤部位聚集。这可以导致药物更有效地释放到肿瘤部位，并消灭癌细胞而不伤害健康细胞。为了实现氧化铁 NPs 在人体内的应用，它们应该是可生物降解和生物相容的，以最大限度地降低毒性。本文综述了近年来在药物和小分子输送领域的进展，如氟尿嘧啶、叶酸、阿霉素、紫杉醇和柔红霉素，特别是当使用金和氧化铁 NPs 作为抗癌治疗剂的载体时。
