Nanoparticle-Based Tools to Study Hallmarks of Aging at the Molecular Level

Aging is characterized by the cumulative damage to the genome, proteome, epigenome, and organelles, which ultimately leads to telomere attrition, loss of proteostasis, genomic instability, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, altered intracellular communication, chronic inflammation, and dysregulated nutrient sensing. Nanoparticle-based technologies are revolutionizing the ability to study the hallmark of aging at the molecular level. Due to the key limitation of conventional genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic tools, nanoparticles play a vital role in the diagnosis and treatment of hallmarks of aging. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of recent progress on the role of nanoparticles and their applications in the diagnosis and treatment of aging and age-associated disease (AAD). In the first part of this review, we summarized aging and its hallmarks. Then, we described different types of molecular tools used in the diagnosis of aging and age-associated Diseases as well as their limitation. Finally, we reviewed the applications of each kind of nanoparticle with respect to the hallmarks. Collectively, this review provides the importance of nanoparticle platforms as a versatile toolbox to detect, visualize, and fine-tune aging hallmarks, connecting mechanistic studies with translational anti-aging interventions.