Title:Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles Cytocompatibility Versus Cytotoxicity: A Serendipitous Paradox
VOLUME: 23 ISSUE: 20
Author(s):Milad P. Masouleh*, Vahid Hosseini*, Masoud Pourhaghgouy and Martin K. Bakht
Affiliation:Division of Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering, School of Pharmacy, Boots Science Building, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, Laboratory of Applied Mechanobiology, Department of Health Science and Technology, ETH, Zürich 8093, Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Department, Materials and Energy Research Center, Karaj, Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Seoul National University College of Medicine
Keywords:Calcium phosphate nanoparticles, nanotoxicity, apoptosis, calcium signaling, mitochondrial-dependent pathway, cytotoxicity.
Abstract:Due to efficacious characteristics of calcium phosphate nanoparticles (CPNs), they have numerously been
employed in nanomedicine, particularly as carrier for therapeutic and diagnostic agents, and also in tissue engineering.
Although calcium phosphate minerals are noted for their cytocompatibility, there are outstanding findings from
various studies that question whether they are still compatible with cells in nanoscale ranges or not and it leads to the
controversial issue of CPNs cytocompatibility versus cytotoxicity. In this regard, it is necessary to know how CPNs
could result in cytotoxicity for future studies. Interestingly, most of the researchers have attributed the cytotoxicity to
triggering of apoptosis in CPNs-exposed cells. Furthermore, it is reported that CPNs could result in cancer cell demise
through induction of apoptosis. According to the findings, not only CPNs are promising for cancer cell drug
delivery, but also they have the potential to be employed as therapeutic agents. In this review, firstly the physical and
chemical properties of CPNs and their application in medicine are reviewed. Moreover, the interaction between
CPNs and different kind of cells are covered. Lastly, employment of CPNs as a therapeutic agent is discussed.
