Abstract
Cockle shell is an external covering of small, salt water edible clams (Anadara granosa) that dwells in coastal area. This abundant biomaterial is hard, cheap and readily available with high content of calcium carbonate in aragonite polymorphic form. At present, cockle shell-derived calcium carbonate nanoparticles (CSCaCO3NPs) with dual applications has remarkably drawn significant attention of researchers in nanotechnology as a nanocarrier for delivery of different categories of drugs and as bone scaffold due to its beneficial potentials such as biocompatibility, osteoconductivity, pH sensitivity, slow biodegradation, hydrophilic nature and a wide safety margin. In addition, CSCaCO3NP possesses structural porosity, a large surface area and functional group endings for electrostatic ion bonds with high loading capacity. Thus, it maintains great potential in the drug delivery system and a large number of biomedical utilisations. The pioneering researchers adopted a non-hazardous top-down method for the synthesis of CSCaCO3NP with subsequent improvements that led to the better spherical diameter size obtained recently which is suitable for drug delivery. The method is therefore a simple, low cost and environmentally friendly, which involves little procedural steps without stringent temperature management and expensive hazardous chemicals or any carbonation methods. This paper presents a review on a few different types of nanoparticles with emphasis on the versatile most recent advancements and achievements on the synthesis and developments of CSCaCO3NP aragonite with its applications as a nanocarrier for drug delivery in nanomedicine.
Highlights
Recent developments in advanced active delivery systems for drugs, elicited by nanotechnology had led to their application in modern science [1,2,3]
A significant number of publications have appeared in recent years documenting the application of CSCaCO3 NP of aragonite polymorph nanoparticles on different models of animals and cell lines for various therapeutic purposes with regard to their synthesis, functionalization, and both in vitro and in vivo toxicity studies [4,15,16,19,21,22]
An example of such a method is the formation of needle-like crystalline vaterite CaCO3 NP in the presence of gold nanoparticles and Mg2+ and the formation of calcium carbonate amplified with organic thiols, fatty acids and polymer [114,115], this combination is usually not suitable for biomedical use due to the associated non-biocompatibility and toxicity reports [116]
Summary
Recent developments in advanced active delivery systems for drugs, elicited by nanotechnology had led to their application in modern science [1,2,3]. A significant number of publications have appeared in recent years documenting the application of CSCaCO3 NP of aragonite polymorph nanoparticles on different models of animals and cell lines for various therapeutic purposes with regard to their synthesis, functionalization, and both in vitro and in vivo toxicity studies [4,15,16,19,21,22]. Among all available documented literature on CSCaCO3 NP with unique features so far, no review has been documented on the overview of this very nanoparticle of cockle shell biogenic origin This current review highlights a few of the varieties of nanoparticle with some versatile advances on the synthesis and developments of CSCaCO3 NP as a nanocarrier in drug delivery systems
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