An Up-to-Date Review of Natural Nanoparticles for Cancer Management

Cancer represents one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, imposing an urgent need to develop more efficient treatment alternatives. In this respect, much attention has been drawn from conventional cancer treatments to more modern approaches, such as the use of nanotechnology. Extensive research has been done for designing innovative nanoparticles able to specifically target tumor cells and ensure the controlled release of anticancer agents. To avoid the potential toxicity of synthetic materials, natural nanoparticles started to attract increasing scientific interest. In this context, this paper aims to review the most important natural nanoparticles used as active ingredients (e.g., polyphenols, polysaccharides, proteins, and sterol-like compounds) or as carriers (e.g., proteins, polysaccharides, viral nanoparticles, and exosomes) of various anticancer moieties, focusing on their recent applications in treating diverse malignancies.

Nanofluids, Synthesis and Stability - Brief Review

Nanofluids constitute an alternative for the most efficient use of energy as they allow generating or improving thermal properties among others of traditional fluids, they are defined as so-called base fluids, such as: water, ethylene glycol, oils, etc., which contain nanoparticles in suspension , such as: aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, titanium oxide, metal nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, graphene, carbides, etc. Nanofluids can be synthesized by two methods, the nanoparticles can be obtained separately and then the nanofluid is prepared or both nanoparticles and the nanofluid can be prepared simultaneously, an important factor to consider in obtaining nanofluids is their stability. Stability can be achieved by physical treatment or chemical treatment using surfactants. There are many studies about nanofluids, however, most are obtained with synthetic nanoparticles, leaving the use of natural nanoparticles as a field to be explored, as well as other surfactants to improve their stability. Keywords: nanofluids, hybrid nanofluids, nanoparticles, nano refrigerant. Resumen Los nanofluidos constituyen una alternativa para el uso más eficiente de energía pues permiten generar o mejorar las propiedades térmicas entre otras de los fluidos tradicionales, son definidos como fluidos denominados base, como: agua, etilenglicol, aceites, etc., que contienen nanopartículas en suspensión, como: óxido de aluminio, óxido de silicio, óxido de titanio, nanopartículas metálicas, nanotubos de carbono, grafeno, carburos, etc. Los nanofluidos se pueden sintetizar por dos métodos, se pueden obtener las nanopartículas por separado y luego preparar el nanofluido o se puede preparar simultáneamente las nanopartículas y el nanofluido, un factor importante a considerar en la obtención de nanofluidos es su estabilidad. La estabilidad se puede lograr mediante tratamiento físico o tratamiento químico mediante la utilización de surfactantes. Existen muchos estudios acerca de nanofluidos sin embargo, la mayoría se obtienen con nanopartículas sintéticas, quedando el uso de nanopartículas naturales como un campo por explorar al igual que otros surfactantes para mejorar su estabilidad. Palabras Clave: nanofluidos, nonofluidos híbridos, nanoparticulas, nanorefrigerantes.