Abstract
Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) micro/nanoparticles have attracted considerable medical research interest in therapeutic applications such as controlled pharmaceuticals for cancer treatment, tumor imaging, and gene therapy. The advantages of using CaCO3 micro/nanoparticles in these applications arise from their properties. Some of these advantageous properties include pH sensitivity, biocompatibility, safety, and biodegradability. Crucially, CaCO3 micro/nanoparticles are stable at normal physiological pH (~ 7.3) in the blood circulation system, while in more acidic pH tumor environments, they readily decompose. Thus, the slow degradation of their porous core allows these particles to be employed as carriers for contrast agents used in biomedical imaging procedures or utilized as sustained-release carriers for the targeted delivery of anticancer drugs and gene therapies. The chapter provides an overview of recent research into developing delivery carriers based on CaCO3 micro/nanoparticles for the transport of pharmaceutical agents to tumors. The study discusses cancer, the advantages of using a nanomedicine approach for treating cancer, and various methods for producing CaCO3 micro/nanoparticles. This is followed by a summary of the current research into using CaCO3-based particles for biomedical imaging, targeted drug delivery, and gene therapy. Notably, the chapter highlights the potential use of CaCO3 micro/nanoparticles as a safe and efficient drug delivery platform for cancer treatment.