Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
9.0
4.9
Journals
IJMS
Special Issues
Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment
ijms-logo
Submit to IJMS Review for IJMS Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Nanoscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2025) | Viewed by 2263

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Stefano Fedeli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, Via Venezian, 21, 20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: nanomaterials; organic chemistry; bioorthogonal chemistry; nanomedicine; biocompatible polymers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Intense research on polymers and nanomaterials for cancer therapies has resulted in the approval of various nanomedicine-based treatments in the last decade, with the protocols including metallic and polymer‑based nanoparticles for chemo, thermal, and radiotherapy. These advancements demonstrate the potentiality of nanomedicine in providing substantial contributions toward the clinical translation of advanced anticancer strategies. The high interdisciplinarity of nanomaterial-based anticancer treatments draws on and adds to knowledge from multiple areas, including polymers, inorganic, and organic chemistry. Scaffold design methods integrate the expertise and techniques of polymer science and nanomaterial chemistry. The ultimate application of these systems in cells and in vivo offers new tools for chemical biology and nanomedicine.

This Special Issue of IJMS focuses on nanomedicine strategies featuring polymeric, organic, and inorganic-based scaffolds for the production of tools and techniques required to overcome current challenges in the translation of nanomaterials for cancer therapies. Examples of contributions include research based on localized drug generation, nanotherapeutics, bioorthogonal approaches, tumor-targeted treatments, biocompatible polymers, and bioresorbable materials. Interdisciplinary research works are very welcome, and submissions can be original research reports, reviews, perspectives/opinions, and methodology articles.

Dr. Stefano Fedeli
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cancer treatments
  • nanomedicine
  • biocompatible polymers
  • drug-delivery
  • nanoparticles
  • bio-orthogonal chemistry
  • nanomaterials
  • gold nanoparticles
  • biodegradable polymers
  • tumor

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 2821 KiB  
Article
The Anti-Metastatic Properties of Glutathione-Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles—A Preliminary Study on Canine Osteosarcoma Cell Lines
by Sylwia S. Wilk, Klaudia I. Kukier, Arkadiusz M. Michałowski, Marek Wojnicki, Bartosz Smereczyński, Michał Wójcik and Katarzyna A. Zabielska-Koczywąs
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(13), 6102; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26136102 - 25 Jun 2025
Viewed by 395
Abstract
Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common primary bone malignancy in dogs, characterized by aggressive growth and high metastatic potential. Despite advances in treatment, the prognosis for affected animals remains poor, mainly due to metastatic disease. Metastasis is a complex process that involves forming [...] Read more.
Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common primary bone malignancy in dogs, characterized by aggressive growth and high metastatic potential. Despite advances in treatment, the prognosis for affected animals remains poor, mainly due to metastatic disease. Metastasis is a complex process that involves forming new blood vessels in the primary tumor (angiogenesis), intravasation, the transport of cancer cells to other locations, extravasation, and the growth of cancer cells in the secondary site. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), due to their unique physicochemical properties, are considered promising tools in cancer therapy, both as drug delivery systems and potential anti-metastatic agents. Previously, it has been demonstrated that 500 µg/mL glutathione-stabilized gold nanoparticles (Au-GSH NPs) inhibit cancer cell extravasation—one of the steps of the metastatic cascade. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-metastatic properties of Au-GSH NPs through their influence on OSA cell migration, proliferation, and colony formation in vitro, as well as their antiangiogenic properties on the chick embryo chorioallantoic (CAM) model. Additionally, we investigated whether these effects are associated with changes in alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M) expression, as it was previously demonstrated to play an essential role in the metastatic cascade. Au-GSH NPs significantly inhibited migration and colony formation in canine osteosarcoma cells (from OSCA-8, OSCA-32, and D-17 cell lines) at 200 µg/mL concentrations. Interestingly, at 500 µg/mL, Au-GSH NPs inhibited angiogenesis on the CAM model and cancer cell migration, but fewer colonies were formed. These results may be directly related to the higher efficiency of Au-GSH NPs uptake by OSA cells at the dose of 200 μg/mL than at the dose of 500 μg/mL, as demonstrated using Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (MP-AES). Moreover, this is the first study that demonstrates a significant increase in A2M expression in cancer cells after Au-GSH NPs treatment. This study provides new insight into the potential use of Au-GSH NPs as anti-metastatic agents in canine osteosarcoma, indicating that their anti-metastatic properties may be related to A2M. However, further in vitro and in vivo studies are needed to explore the molecular mechanism underlying these effects and to evaluate the clinical relevance of AuNPs in veterinary oncology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

25 pages, 1539 KiB  
Review
Functionalized Nanomaterials in Cancer Treatment: A Review
by Oscar Gutiérrez Coronado, Cuauhtémoc Sandoval Salazar, José Luis Muñoz Carrillo, Oscar Alexander Gutiérrez Villalobos, María de la Luz Miranda Beltrán, Alejandro David Soriano Hernández, Vicente Beltrán Campos and Paola Trinidad Villalobos Gutiérrez
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(6), 2633; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26062633 - 14 Mar 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1428
Abstract
Cancer is one of the main causes of death worldwide. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery are currently the treatments of choice for cancer. However, conventional therapies have their limitations, such as non-specificity, tumor recurrence and toxicity to the target cells. Recently, nanomaterials have been [...] Read more.
Cancer is one of the main causes of death worldwide. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery are currently the treatments of choice for cancer. However, conventional therapies have their limitations, such as non-specificity, tumor recurrence and toxicity to the target cells. Recently, nanomaterials have been considered as therapeutic agents against cancer. This is mainly due to their unique optical properties, biocompatibility, large surface area and nanoscale size. These properties are crucial as they can affect biocompatibility and uptake by the cell, reducing efficacy. However, because nanoparticles can be functionalized with biomolecules, they become more biocompatible, which improves uptake, and they can be specifically targeted against cancer cells, which improves their anticancer activity. In this review, we summarize some of the recent studies in which nanomaterials have been functionalized with the aim of increasing therapeutic efficacy in cancer treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop