Lectins as the prominent potential to deliver bioactive metal nanoparticles by recognizing cell surface glycans

Abstract

Lectins are renowned for recognizing specific carbohydrates, but there is evidence that they can bind to other endogenous ligands. Therefore, lectin can be used as a carrier to recognize glycoconjugates on the cell surface. The anticancer, antibacterial, and immunomodulatory properties of some lectins are established. Metal nanoparticles (MNPs) have been used in various fields recently, but their documented toxicity has raised questions about their suitability for biomedical uses. The advantages of MNPs can be realized if we deliver the NPs to the site of action; as a result, NPs may achieve greater therapeutic efficiency at lower doses with less toxicity. The use of carbohydrate specificity by lectin MNPs conjugates for diagnostics and therapeutics was addressed. The review summarised the multidimensional application of lectins and described their potential for delivery of MNPs in future drug development.

Keywords: Anticancer; Antimicrobial; Drug delivery; Lectins; Metal nanoparticles.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

Selective imaging of cancer cells using Jacalin-CdS QDs. Reproduced from Khan Bhelol et al., 2017, with permission from Elsevier.

Fig. 2

Anticancer mechanism induced by JAgNPs-AS/BDS. Reproduced from Khan Bhelol et al., 2016, with permission from the Royal Chemical Society.

Fig. 3

(A) BMSL recognizing cell surface glycan. Fluorescence microscopy imaging showed that only BMSL-FITC recognize UPEC and fluoresce green, whereas mBMSL-FITC could not label the cells and showed cells without fluorescence. (A) Scanning electron microscopy image showed BAgNPs eradicate the biofilm from the catheter surface, and mBAgNPs showed poor antibiofilm activity. Reproduced from Siva et al., 2019, with permission from the American Chemical Society. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)