The prospect of creating medicines based on selenium nanoparticles (Review)

Introduction. The prospects of using nanoparticles in the production of medicines are widely discussed in the literature. In 2018 alone, the quantity of registration certificates issued by national regulators for medicines that use nanoparticles in one form or another is around forty. Most of them are medicines based on liposomes, polymers, iron oxides, micelles. So far, no registration certificates have been issued for selenium nanoparticles. One of the reasons for this situation in this area, from our point of view, is that the mechanisms of interaction of nanoparticles with cells are not sufficiently studied. The lack of basic research in this area is one of the main obstacles to the development of new-generation drugs based on nanoparticles. Text. This review is devoted to the analysis of scientific data on the interaction of selenium nanoparticles with different types of cells. The article discusses the biological properties of selenium and its role in cell metabolism. Data on the cytotoxic effect of selenium nanoparticles on various cell cultures are presented. Methods of preparation of nanoparticles and methods for studying the interaction of nanoparticles with cell cultures are described. Conclusion. Analysis of the literature data allows us to draw conclusions about the relevance of research on the interaction of selenium nanoparticles with living cells. This is necessary to determine the mechanisms of selenium nanoparticles absorption, study their cytotoxic and / or cytostatic action, and distribution in cells. Investigation of the biological interaction of selenium nanoparticles with tumor and normal cells will determine the most informative methods for registering and quantifying their antitumor activity, which is relevant for the development of new drugs to treat cancer. © Skorinova K. D., Kuzmenko V. V., Vasilenko I. A., 2020.