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Review
. 2020 Dec 24;14(1):53.
doi: 10.3390/ma14010053.

Biomedical Applications of Reactive Oxygen Species Generation by Metal Nanoparticles

Roberto Canaparo  1 , Federica Foglietta  1 , Tania Limongi  2 , Loredana Serpe  1
Affiliations
Review

Biomedical Applications of Reactive Oxygen Species Generation by Metal Nanoparticles

Roberto Canaparo et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

The design, synthesis and characterization of new nanomaterials represents one of the most dynamic and transversal aspects of nanotechnology applications in the biomedical field. New synthetic and engineering improvements allow the design of a wide range of biocompatible nanostructured materials (NSMs) and nanoparticles (NPs) which, with or without additional chemical and/or biomolecular surface modifications, are more frequently employed in applications for successful diagnostic, drug delivery and therapeutic procedures. Metal-based nanoparticles (MNPs) including metal NPs, metal oxide NPs, quantum dots (QDs) and magnetic NPs, thanks to their physical and chemical properties have gained much traction for their functional use in biomedicine. In this review it is highlighted how the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which in many respects could be considered a negative aspect of the interaction of MNPs with biological matter, may be a surprising nanotechnology weapon. From the exchange of knowledge between branches such as materials science, nanotechnology, engineering, biochemistry and medicine, researchers and clinicians are setting and standardizing treatments by tuning ROS production to induce cancer or microbial cell death.

Keywords: gold nanoparticles; iron oxide nanoparticles; metal nanoparticles; photodynamic therapy; photothermal therapy; reactive oxygen species; silver nanoparticles; sonodynamic therapy; titanium dioxide nanoparticles; zinc nanoparticles.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic illustration of various triggers responsible for reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and ROS-induced pathways leading to cell damage.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Iron NPs (Fe3O4 NPs) can be prepared by the chemical coprecipitation method and enriched with an external coating, including polyethylen glycol, polyacrylic acid, chitosan or dextran.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) can be decorated by adding the folic acid carboxyl group. Folic acid was activated by carboxyl groups by N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide in anhydrous dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and conjugation of NHS-ester activated folate to NH2-PEG3.5kDa-SH (FA-PEG-SH) in anhydrous DMSO in presence of triethylamine [19].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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