Biomedical Applications of Zinc Oxide Nanomaterials in Cancer Treatment: A review

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a bio-safe material that possesses photo-oxidizing and photocatalysis impacts on chemical and biological species. ZnO holds a unique optical, chemical sensing, semiconducting, electric conductivity and piezoelectric properties. One of the most important features of ZnO nanomaterials is low toxicity and biodegradability. ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) is a low-cost, low-toxic, and versatile material, have shown to have a promising future in biological applications. Specific properties and characteristics of ZnO NPs, such as their inherent toxicity against cancerous cells, at least for cells of lymphocytic origin, their ability to induce intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation leading to death via an apoptotic mechanism, and their physiochemical properties leading to cellular uptake and ease of functionalization make them an appealing candidate for biomedical applications. In this review, the current status of the use of ZnO nanomaterials for biomedical applications, such as biomedical imaging, drug delivery, gene delivery and cancer therapy has been addressed. SCIREA Journal of Chemistry http://www.scirea.org/journal/Chemistry