Bioengineered Metallic Nanomaterials for Nanoscale Drug Delivery Systems

Abstract

Numerous physical and chemical techniques are used for nanoparticle fabrication such as mechanical milling, laser ablation, spinning, and chemical deposition. However, these methods have some drawbacks including the use of harmful chemicals and consuming high cost (in time, energy, resources, and space) as well as the toxicity in human and the environment. Hence, the necessity for developing an alternative sustainable, affordable, and environmentally friendly nanoparticle fabrication pathway resulted in the development of the green synthesis approach for fabricating environmentally innocuous nanoparticles (NPs) to prevent adverse effects in medical applications. Therefore, incorporating green chemistry concepts into nanotechnology is one of the essential topics in nano-bioscience studies. In general, this process is referred to as “green synthesis.” It entails employing biological resources (fungi, bacteria, plants, or algae) to create ecologically benign, nonhazardous, and biocompatible nanoplatforms. This green approach uses several reducing and stabilizing agents derived from biological resources to synthesize NPs. These biosynthesized metal-based NPs could be used in pharmaceutical applications such as drug carriers to improve drug delivery. They have flexible structures that allow control of physical properties and enhanced surface properties that provide high applicability of targeted delivery of various drugs. Hence, this chapter mainly focuses on green fabricated metal-based nanomaterials with potential applications in drug delivery systems and future therapeutic prospects in a single window.