Abstract
Nowadays, nanoparticles especially the metal oxides have become popular in the context of cancer therapeutics owing to their easy synthesis, moldable physiochemical properties, biocompatibility, and enhanced selectivity towards tumor cells. Zinc oxide nanoparticle is to be considered in the pool of the metal oxide nanoparticles to a great extent. Zinc, being a major trace element and a cofactor for more than 300 enzymes in human body, is well suited. Additionally, zinc has been reported to be essential in a number of vital cellular processes, such as maintenance of cellular redox balance, DNA replication, DNA repair, cell cycle progression, as well as programmed cell death. Increased zinc concentration has been shown to cause protein disequilibrium and subsequently uplift oxidative load in cells. However, low zinc concentration has been found to accelerate cancer progression. Thus, passive localization due to enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect as well as selective localization due to their flexible surface chemistry allow ZnO nanoparticles to be treated as a promising anticancer agent. Here, we have looked into the various synthesis procedures of ZnO nanoparticles, its cytotoxic ability towards tumor cells, and its usage as a vehicle in cancer-treating nanomedicine.
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Ghosh, N., Chatterjee, S., Kundu, M., Sil, P.C. (2022). Oxidative Stress-Dependent Anticancer Potentiality of Nanotherapeutic Zinc Oxide. In: Chakraborti, S. (eds) Handbook of Oxidative Stress in Cancer: Therapeutic Aspects. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5422-0_123
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