Recent research progress on the biological functions, synthesis and applications of selenium nanoparticles

Selenium is an essential trace element that is involved in a variety of complex biological processes and has a significant positive effect on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, inflammatory diseases, and cancer. Selenium in the body is mainly provided by daily meals. However, selenium has two sides, beneficial in moderation and harmful in excess. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs), which has better biocompatibility, safety and stability compared with other forms of selenium, is a good choice for selenium supplementing. Current researchers are exploring SeNPs in a variety of ways, including but not limited to antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, inhibition of inflammation, anti-tumor, development of bio-diagnostic reagents, and nano-carrier systems. Also, efforts are being made to synthesize stable and efficient SeNPs for various applications. This study briefly describes how SeNPs are synthesized, summarizes in detail the wide range of uses of SeNPs, and provides an outlook on the future development of it. In addition, combined with the research results of our group, this study discusses the application and biological assays of SeNPs in diagnosis, which will provide inspiration and help for researchers to broaden the application of SeNPs.