Therapeutic applications of selenium nanoparticles

Nanoparticles (NPs) serve to reduce the toxicity, enhance bioactivity, improve targeting, and provide versatile means to control the release profile of the encapsulated moiety. Among different NPs, inorganic NPs of metals like Ag, Au, Ce, Fe, Se, Ti and Zn possess a significant place owing to their unique bioactivities in nanoforms. Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element. It is incorporated into selenoproteins as selenocysteine (Sec) representing the most important part of the active center of their enzymatic activities. Many selenoproteins have oxidoreductase activity and, thus, regulate the physiological redox balance. Se has a narrow therapeutic window and the toxicity margins are very delicate whereas…