Studies on Nanoparticles for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications

Abstract

newlineThe biological application of nanoparticles is a swiftly evolving area of nanotechnology that evokes alternative prospects in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases. Among several nanoparticles, metal nanoparticles seem to be very promising for biomedical applications. This research focuses on the application of iron oxide and silver nanoparticles for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, respectively. Multifunctional iron oxide nanoparticles were developed to prudently combine cancer cell targeting, cancer cell imaging, and drug delivery. Nevertheless, toxicity and non-specificity problems are yet to be overcome. Therefore, in this study, iron oxide nanoparticles were functionalized with polyethylene glycol and folic acid in order to investigate its diagnostic application. Despite the prevalent use of silver nanoparticles, very few studies have attempted to resolve the cell death mechanism of silver nanoparticles. Hence, this work aims to elucidate the possible underlying mechanism of cell death induced by silver nanoparticles. Ultimately, the engineered iron oxide nanovector demonstrated efficient cell sorting, targeting, and imaging. This study has also presented a relevant understanding that lowering bcl-2/bax is the probable mechanism of apoptosis caused by silver nanoparticles.