Nanoparticles induce apoptosis via mediating diverse cellular pathways.

With a special size and structure, nanoparticles (NPs) have excellent application prospects in various fields and are widely used in the biomedicine, cosmetics and chemical industries nowadays. However, there have been some reports on the biosafety of this new type of material, pointing out its cytotoxicity in inducing apoptosis. With different physicochemical properties in size, shape, surface charge, and ligand, NPs exhibit different biocompatibilities when interacting with different cells. Therefore, a comprehensive and deep study into the proapoptotic mechanism of NPs is necessary. In the present review, we summarize the NP-triggered apoptotic signal pathways in detail and highlight some important functional molecules involved. We hope our findings and perspectives provide a new direction for the sound development of nanotechnology in the future.