Emerging theranostic silver and gold nanobiomaterials for breast cancer: Present status and future prospects

Abstract In the United States, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women, according to the reports of the American Cancer Society (ACS) in 2019. Nanotechnology provides innovative strategies to combat breast cancer. In addition to current nanoplatforms such as liposomes and dendrimers that are designed for cancer therapeutics, silver and gold nanobiomaterials have attracted considerable attention for breast cancer theranostics owing to their unique physicochemical properties. These nanobiomaterials are prepared through biosynthetic approaches and can be engineered as smart nanomedicines for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. The silver and gold nanobiomaterials represented significant potential for targeted drug delivery systems. The FDA-approved anticancer drugs as well as diagnostic and/or targeting agents can be conjugated to these nanobiomaterials to build nanostructure weapons to combat cancer cells. Herein, we provided valuable information about the present status and future prospects of these nanobiomaterials to combat breast cancer. We also investigated a mechanistic approach to anticancer activity of silver and gold nanobiomaterials against breast cancer cells.