Plant-based Smart Materials for Cancer Therapy: Mechanisms, Advances, and Future Prospects

Abstract:

Conventional cancer treatment methods, such as chemotherapy and radiation, lack specificity and primarily affect surrounding healthy cells. Therefore, a therapy that specifically targets and kills cancerous cells, leading to their apoptosis, could enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatment. Plant-mediated nanoparticles offer a promising solution. Plant phytochemicals act as safe, non-toxic reducing and stabilizing agents, providing an eco-friendly approach for drug delivery, detection, and imaging. Both inorganic (gold and silver) and organic (liposomes and dendrimers) nanoparticles are utilized for active and passive targeted delivery systems. These nanomedicines selectively accumulate therapeutic molecules in tumor tissues while reducing systemic toxicity, which can promote the inhibition of angiogenesis, the induction of mitochondrial damage, and the targeted generation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Existing reviews rarely systematically integrate green synthesis methodologies, multi-type delivery carriers, and translational challenges. This review discusses the natural variability, agglomeration, and bioavailability of therapeutic nanoparticles and provides a novel, unifying perspective on the multi-component synergy of plant extracts, demonstrating the role of complex bioactive mixtures and nanocarriers in overcoming current limitations in clinical translation and single-compound therapies against the tumor microenvironment.