Metal nanoparticles in cancer: from synthesis and metabolism to cellular interactions

Nanotechnology has encouraged new and amended materials (metal nanoparticles) for therapeutic applications with specific prominence in healthcare. Metal nanoparticles (NPs) are versatile nanoscale entities, widely used to diagnose and treat cancer. Evidence suggested that metal NPs can modulate the expression of various intracellular and extra-cellular signaling molecules in the tumor microenvironment. Metal nanoparticles possess anti-cancer activities via apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. In addition, metal NPs inhibit tumor angiogenesis, metastasis and inflammation to stop cancer proliferation. Synergistic applications of metal NPs with existing anti-cancer agents showed improvement in their bioactivity and bioavailability. This review explores the synthetic approaches, pharmacokinetics, and the cellular and molecular interactions of metal NPs in cancer. Graphical abstract