498
T. Pal et al.
induce oxidative stress hampering several cellular processes. The Cu(II) compounds
strongly promote the apoptosis of cancer cells through the intrinsic ROS-mediated
mitochondrial pathway accompanied by the regulation of Bcl-2 family proteins.
Thus, combining copper with organic compounds has shown high anticancerous
properties (Mandal 2017). The metal nanostructure of Au, Ag, Zn, Mn is also
widely used as a delivery vehicle. In a recent report, doxorubicin-loaded Au particles showed sustained and pH-dependent release of drugs and decrease in tumor size
(Aminabad et al. 2019). Similarly, Ag nanoparticles are used as anticancer agents
against multiple cancers, helping in delivering anticancer drugs to enhance the therapeutic index of the drug. Ag nanoparticles, when combined with phytopharmaceuticals, act as nontoxic contrast agents, photothermal agents, and delivery vehicles for
cancer therapy (Burdus , el et al. 2018).
4.2.2 Carbon-Based Nanomaterial
Carbon nanomaterials exhibit very intriguing properties among nanoparticles like
lightweight, high chemical resistance, and exceptional mechanical properties and are
thus widely used for imaging, delivery, and diagnosis purpose. They also have a great
variety of morphologies ranging from 0D (carbon nano-onions) to 1D nanotubes and
2D nanosheets. Most commonly studied carbon nanomaterials are carbon nanotubes
(CNT), carbon nanohorns, graphene and its derivatives, nanodiamonds, to name a
few. CNTs are effective anticancer drug delivery vehicles and for co-delivery of drugs
at cancer sites with the potential of treating multidrug-resistant cells. Multiwalled
CNT nanoplatforms with prolonged circulation time and high-cargo capacity with
active targeting have been developed showing potential multimodal platforms for
cancer therapeutics. CNT-based phototherapies can be utilized for intracellular drug
delivery. Graphene and its derivatives are widely used in cell imaging, biosensing,
drug, and gene delivery. Paclitaxel-encapsulated PEG-GO showed higher toxicity
against A549 cells compared with free paclitaxel (Patel et al. 2016).
Carbon nano-onions (CNO) are an emerging class of carbon nanomaterials that
have gained interests due to its unique properties like large surface to volume ratio
and low density. It is made up of multiple graphene layers surrounding a fullerene
core with an interlayer distance of about 0.34 nm. CNOs showed excellent biocompatibility suggesting they are not cytotoxic and thus appropriate for biological applications. CNOs used in in vivo studies of prokaryotic and eukaryotic studies also
revealed that it has no toxic effects on any of them thus affirming its biocompatibility. They can also cross the blood–brain barrier and thus can be used for
neurobiomedicine. In one of the studies, CNOs conjugated with fluorescein were
injected in the hippocampal region of mice brain and showed no significant increase
in neuroinflammatory response. Cysteine-functionalized CNOs carrying maleimide
demonstrated its ability to deliver protein and glycopeptides intracellularly without
any adverse effect. Even in comparative studies against other carbon nanomaterials,
carbon nano-onions showed better biocompatibility with better drug deliverance
T. Pal et al.
induce oxidative stress hampering several cellular processes. The Cu(II) compounds
strongly promote the apoptosis of cancer cells through the intrinsic ROS-mediated
mitochondrial pathway accompanied by the regulation of Bcl-2 family proteins.
Thus, combining copper with organic compounds has shown high anticancerous
properties (Mandal 2017). The metal nanostructure of Au, Ag, Zn, Mn is also
widely used as a delivery vehicle. In a recent report, doxorubicin-loaded Au particles showed sustained and pH-dependent release of drugs and decrease in tumor size
(Aminabad et al. 2019). Similarly, Ag nanoparticles are used as anticancer agents
against multiple cancers, helping in delivering anticancer drugs to enhance the therapeutic index of the drug. Ag nanoparticles, when combined with phytopharmaceuticals, act as nontoxic contrast agents, photothermal agents, and delivery vehicles for
cancer therapy (Burdus , el et al. 2018).
4.2.2 Carbon-Based Nanomaterial
Carbon nanomaterials exhibit very intriguing properties among nanoparticles like
lightweight, high chemical resistance, and exceptional mechanical properties and are
thus widely used for imaging, delivery, and diagnosis purpose. They also have a great
variety of morphologies ranging from 0D (carbon nano-onions) to 1D nanotubes and
2D nanosheets. Most commonly studied carbon nanomaterials are carbon nanotubes
(CNT), carbon nanohorns, graphene and its derivatives, nanodiamonds, to name a
few. CNTs are effective anticancer drug delivery vehicles and for co-delivery of drugs
at cancer sites with the potential of treating multidrug-resistant cells. Multiwalled
CNT nanoplatforms with prolonged circulation time and high-cargo capacity with
active targeting have been developed showing potential multimodal platforms for
cancer therapeutics. CNT-based phototherapies can be utilized for intracellular drug
delivery. Graphene and its derivatives are widely used in cell imaging, biosensing,
drug, and gene delivery. Paclitaxel-encapsulated PEG-GO showed higher toxicity
against A549 cells compared with free paclitaxel (Patel et al. 2016).
Carbon nano-onions (CNO) are an emerging class of carbon nanomaterials that
have gained interests due to its unique properties like large surface to volume ratio
and low density. It is made up of multiple graphene layers surrounding a fullerene
core with an interlayer distance of about 0.34 nm. CNOs showed excellent biocompatibility suggesting they are not cytotoxic and thus appropriate for biological applications. CNOs used in in vivo studies of prokaryotic and eukaryotic studies also
revealed that it has no toxic effects on any of them thus affirming its biocompatibility. They can also cross the blood–brain barrier and thus can be used for
neurobiomedicine. In one of the studies, CNOs conjugated with fluorescein were
injected in the hippocampal region of mice brain and showed no significant increase
in neuroinflammatory response. Cysteine-functionalized CNOs carrying maleimide
demonstrated its ability to deliver protein and glycopeptides intracellularly without
any adverse effect. Even in comparative studies against other carbon nanomaterials,
carbon nano-onions showed better biocompatibility with better drug deliverance