Genes and Development
Genes and Development
5 years ago

Nanomaterials made of non-toxic metallic sulfides: A systematic review of their potential biomedical applications.

Metallic sulfides involve the chemical bonding of one or more sulfur atoms to a metal. Metallic sulfides are cheap, abundant semiconductor materials that can be used for several applications. However, an important and emerging use for non-toxic metallic sulfides in biomedical applications has arisen quickly in the medical field. In this systematic review, the available data from electronic databases were collected according to PRISMA alignments for systematic reviews. This review shows that these metallic sulfides could be promising for biomedical uses and applications. This systematic review is focused primarily on the following compounds: silver sulfide, copper sulfide, and iron sulfide. The aim of this review was to provide a quick reference on synthesis methods, biocompatibility, recent advances and perspectives, with remarks on future improvements. The toxicity of metallic sulfides depends directly on the cytotoxicity of their interactions with cells and tissues. Metallic sulfides have potential biomedical applications due to their antibacterial properties, uses in imaging and diagnostics, therapies such as photothermal therapy and chemotherapy in tumors and cancer cells, drug delivery and the fabrication of biosensors for the sensitive and selective detection of moieties, among others. Although current evidence about metallic sulfide NPs is promising, there are still several issues to be addressed before these NPs can be used in biomedicine. The current review is a brief but significant guide to metallic sulfides and their potential uses in the biomedical field.

Publisher URL: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2017.02.120

DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2017.02.120

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.