Palladium Nanoparticles as a Platform for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Abstract Palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) in the past decade have been extensively used in the diagnosis, imaging, and treatment of numerous diseases owing to their unique physical, chemical, and catalytic properties. Previously, Palladium was almost singularly used for catalysis during chemical synthesis in industries. It is only in the past decade that researchers explore its potential in biomedicine. PdNPs can also be used in the imaging and diagnosis of cancer through techniques such as photoacoustic imaging, computed tomography, and flow cytometry-assisted cell sorting. They offer various advantages such as tunability, desirable photothermal and optical properties, thermal stability, antimicrobial properties, and many more. Cancer treatment through conventional techniques and the broad use of cytotoxic therapeutics has reached a plateau. This paved the way to design novel selective and targeted therapies, one of them being PdNPs. PdNPs are most commonly used in synergy with chemotherapy, photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, as well as radiotherapy which improves the efficacy of cancer treatment. In this review, several studies are included that summarize the synthesis, characterization, and cytotoxicity of palladium nanoparticles as well as the functionalized PdNP complexes. In addition, the review provides insight into the mechanism of palladium nanoparticles in improving the efficacy and efficiency of synergistic therapies.