Affiliations 

  • 1 Biomaterial Group, Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Department, Materials and Energy Research Center, Karaj, Iran
  • 2 Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University College of MAIWP International (UCMI), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  • 4 Department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology and Physical-Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
  • 5 Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 6 Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Sunway, Malaysia
Front Chem, 2024;12:1398979.
PMID: 39206442 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1398979

Abstract

Metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) have garnered significant attention due to their ability to improve the therapeutic index of medications by reducing multidrug resistance and effectively delivering therapeutic agents through active targeting. In addition to drug delivery, MNPs have several medical applications, including in vitro and in vivo diagnostics, and they improve the biocompatibility of materials and nutraceuticals. MNPs have several advantages in drug delivery systems and genetic manipulation, such as improved stability and half-life in circulation, passive or active targeting into the desired target selective tissue, and gene manipulation by delivering genetic materials. The main goal of this review is to provide current information on the present issues and prospects of MNPs in drug and gene delivery systems. The current study focused on MNP preparation methods and their characterization by different techniques, their applications to targeted delivery, non-viral vectors in genetic manipulation, and challenges in clinical trial translation.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.