Metal and Metal Oxide Nanoparticles and Synergistic Therapy as A Novel Method for Managing Diabetic Nephropathy: A Brief Overview

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is another name for diabetic kidney disease (DKD). This is a prevalent issue among people with diabetes worldwide. This disease is a health condition affecting the renal glomeruli and causes diabetic nephropathy. Hyperglycemia is the most important contributing factor to the development of DN, where the blood vessels in the renal tissue may get damaged as a result of continuously elevated blood sugar levels, specifically the endothelial cells of the renal glomeruli, which leads to weak capillaries, affected glomerular filtration rate (GFR), the onset of albuminuria, and ultimately kidney damage. However, the reasons for this are unclear, making treatment hard and costly. It is correlated with an increased danger of reaching end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Recent research focuses on finding new therapeutic targets using nanomedicines to develop new therapeutic solutions for diabetes patients. Metal nanoparticle oxides such as Zn, Au and Ag Oxides, in addition to synergistic therapy using NP combinations such as Curcumin-Magnesium Oxide (Cur-MgO NPs), Metformin with Hollow mesoporous silica and cerium oxide nanocomposite particles (MET–HMSN–CeO2 NPs), selenium-metformin nanoparticles (Se-NPs- MET), Chitosan-selenium-metformin nanoparticles (Ch-Se-MEF NPs), Chitosan-ZnO (ZnO-CS NPs) and Silver-chitosan-ascorbic acid (Ag-NCs) show promise in the treatment of DN, as they can prevent its progression. This article presents a comprehensive overview of metallic nanoparticles and their associated oxides, highlighting their remarkable efficacy in the management of DN.