An Up-to-Date Review of Natural Nanoparticles for Cancer Management
Daniel Ion,
Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu,
Dan Nicolae Păduraru,
Octavian Andronic,
Florentina Mușat,
Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu,
Alexandra Bolocan
Affiliations
Daniel Ion
General Surgery Department, Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Dan Nicolae Păduraru
General Surgery Department, Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Octavian Andronic
General Surgery Department, Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Florentina Mușat
General Surgery Department, Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Alexandra Bolocan
General Surgery Department, Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Cancer represents one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, imposing an urgent need to develop more efficient treatment alternatives. In this respect, much attention has been drawn from conventional cancer treatments to more modern approaches, such as the use of nanotechnology. Extensive research has been done for designing innovative nanoparticles able to specifically target tumor cells and ensure the controlled release of anticancer agents. To avoid the potential toxicity of synthetic materials, natural nanoparticles started to attract increasing scientific interest. In this context, this paper aims to review the most important natural nanoparticles used as active ingredients (e.g., polyphenols, polysaccharides, proteins, and sterol-like compounds) or as carriers (e.g., proteins, polysaccharides, viral nanoparticles, and exosomes) of various anticancer moieties, focusing on their recent applications in treating diverse malignancies.
