Abstract
Numerous pathological conditions, including cancer, inflammatory diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases, are accompanied by overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This makes ROS vital flagging molecules in disease pathology. ROS-responsive drug delivery platforms have been developed. Nanotechnology has been broadly applied in the field of biomedicine leading to the progress of ROS-responsive nanoparticles. In this review, we focused on the production and physiological/pathophysiological impact of ROS. Particular emphasis is put on the mechanisms and effects of abnormal ROS levels on oxidative stress diseases, including cancer, inflammatory disease, and neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, we summarized the potential biomedical applications of ROS-responsive nanocarriers in these oxidative stress diseases. We provide insights that will help in the designing of new ROS-responsive nanocarriers for various applications.
Highlights
Oxygen is necessary for aerobic respiration in living bodies
reactive oxygen species (ROS) is important for normal functioning of the human body, excessive levels of ROS cause oxidative stress leading to the pathogenesis of diseases
The ROS-responsive nanocarriers used in scientific research and their biomedical applications in the treatment of diseases related to oxidative stress were discussed in this review
Summary
Oxygen is necessary for aerobic respiration in living bodies. It is required in oxidative metabolism for the generation of adenosine triphosphate. ROS constitutes a collective terminology referring to oxygen-derived free radicals and small molecules consisting of superoxide anion (O2·−), hydroxyl free radical (·OH), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hypochlorous acid (HOCl), singlet oxygen (1O2), and so on (Bayr, 2005; Giorgio et al, 2007; Trachootham et al, 2009; Dickinson and Chang, 2011; Gligorovski et al, 2015). O2·− is the primary ROS produced by metabolic processes. Activation of oxygen with an electron from physical irradiation produces O2·−, which generates ROS through a series of reactions. O2·− directly interacts with other molecules through enzymatic or metal-catalyzed processes to produce secondary ROS (Imlay, 2003; Valko et al, 2006; Hayyan et al, 2016). ROS is indispensable for normal physiological functions as they participate in cell signaling, immunity, and tissue homeostasis (Bryan et al, 2012; Ray et al, 2012; Nathan and Cunningham-Bussel, 2013; Nosaka and Nosaka, 2017)
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