Table 3.

Different application areas and mechanisms of action of ZnO-NPs

Application Area	Mechanism of Action	Therapeutic Effect	Research Progress	Ref
Chemotherapy sensitizer	Inhibition of P-gp expression improved cell membrane permeability	Increased intracellular drug accumulation, enhanced chemotherapy efficiency	Further research is needed to determine effective concentrations and safety	173
Photosensitizer	Induction of ROS generation under UV irradiation	Attacking cell membranes, facilitating the entry of antitumor drugs into cells	Further research is needed to verify the efficacy	174
Drug carrier	Targeted delivery of anticancer drugs	Improved targeting and therapeutic efficacy of drugs	Development of various metal oxide nanoparticles	175
Biosensor	Used as a biosensor	Provides new strategies for treating hematological tumors	Good antitumor effects were observed in vitro cell experiments	176
Cell cycle arrest	Preventing cells from entering mitosis	Inhibition of tumor cell proliferation	More large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed	177
Induction of oxidative stress	Generation of excessive ROS	Leading to the apoptosis of tumor cells	Studying the cytotoxicity of ZnO NPs	178
Regulation of protein and gene expression	Activation of Caspase, influence on MT1 gene expression	Exerting tumor suppressor activity	Studying the synthesis methods of ZnO NPs	179
Regulation of Zn²⁺ homeostasis	Dissolution producing Zn²⁺, affecting intracellular homeostasis	Leading to mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis	Studying the biocompatibility of ZnO NPs	180
Promotion of mitophagy	Activation of PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy	Inducing cell autophagy	Studying the clinical application of ZnO NPs	83
Regulation of mitochondrial membrane potential	Decreasing MMP, leading to a decline in ATP levels	Mitochondrial dysfunction	Studying the cytotoxicity of ZnO NPs	181