Selenium

Selenium is a chemical element investigated in biomedical research as a component of selenium-containing small molecules, selenium nanoparticles, selenium-doped carbon materials, and redox-responsive nanostructures. In the studies summarized here, its biological relevance is primarily associated with modulation of oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial dysfunction, DNA damage, apoptosis, and antioxidant signaling. Selenium-containing systems were also examined in relation to cellular uptake, drug delivery, immune responses, antimicrobial activity, and disease models involving acute kidney injury (AKI), cancer, cardiotoxicity, acute lung injury, infection, and neurodegenerative disease.

The recent literature represents a unified research area focused on selenium biomedical applications rather than distinct mechanistic subfields. Investigated platforms include sodium selenite-related selenium chemistry, selenium nanoparticles, selenium-doped carbon quantum dots, selenide-bridged nanoparticles, and selenium-containing drug candidates. Reported biological pathways and endpoints include nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) signaling, Keap-1 expression, p38/MAPK and unfolded protein response pathways, iron chelation, mitochondrial injury, and apoptosis. These findings are predominantly based on experimental therapeutic designs and do not, in the supplied publications, establish clinical efficacy or safety in humans.