Abstract

Background: The understanding of the action mechanism of the nanoparticles systems consisting of metallic nanoparticles and dyes or cytostatic molecule is crucial for searching and designing the ideal, novel drugs. In this review, we have considered moleculefunctionalized metallic nanoparticle systems for phototherapy.

Methods: We performed a thorough search of the high-quality peer-reviewed literature on metallic nanoparticles systems in phototherapy, focusing on their biological importance and the action mechanism.

Results: 138 papers were included in the mini-review. The majority of them discussed the way of metallic nanoparticles functionalization and its impact on the biological activity of a hybrid system.

Conclusion: In this work, we show numerous medically and chemically important development strategies of hybrid types of drugs which can be used in phototherapy. These systems have a high affinity to the tumor cells surface proteins which transport the nanoparticles directly into a cell. The application of functionalized metallic nanoparticles in phototherapy improved photophysical properties lowered cytotoxicity of commonly used photosensitizers and facilitated the development of the third generation photosensitizers. Furthermore, this type of nanoparticles could also be used as a cytostatic drug carrier in the chemo or combined anticancer therapies.

Keywords: Photosensitizers, noble metals, functionalization, photodynamic therapy, photodynamic diagnosis, photothermal therapy, combined therapy, nanotechnology.