Folated curcumin-gold nanoformulations: A nanotherapeutic strategy for breast cancer therapy

Breast cancer is considered a leading health problem, especially in women, and is a major contributor to the annual worldwide cancer mortality rate. Various drawbacks and a range of side effects are faced by cancer patients undergoing the conventional cancer therapy methods that do not always result in positive and successful outcomes. Current research introducing nanomaterials into in vivo breast cancer therapy applications has revolutionized various aspects of these therapies. These include conjugating natural compounds onto nanoparticles (NPs) such as curcumin that exhibit chemopreventive activity, and controlled drug release targeting specific organs or tumor sites, thereby reducing the side effects otherwise caused by conventional cancer therapy. Recently, folate-tagged gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are proving to be the leading nanocarriers used in cancer treatment and detection and can also be combined with different therapies such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and photothermal therapy. The development of such nano-based systems possessing enzyme mimetic properties, blood compatibility, and the ability to differentiate between normal cells and cancer cell properties deems them suitable for in vivo applications and have attracted enormous attention for devising early detection and diagnosis for breast cancer. In this review, we will discuss recent progress in the use of curcumin as a chemopreventive drug in cancer therapy and review the different routes in use for the synthesis and functionalization of Au NPs. Finally, we will review the current state of research with respect to curcumin and folic acid-conjugated Au NPs and their applications in detection, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer.