Enhanced Therapeutic Applications of Vitamin C via Nanotechnology-Based Pro-Oxidant Properties: A Review

Vitamin C has a controversial history in terms of its antioxidant as well as pro-oxidant properties. While the antioxidant property of vitamin C is an established fact, the pro-oxidant property is less known. This is particularly because the pro-oxidant property of vitamin C occurs only under selected conditions that include high concentration and/or the presence of a catalytic metal. Recent works show that the nanoformulation of vitamin C or the coupling with a nanoparticle can significantly enhance the pro-oxidant property of vitamin C. This Review has focused on the current status of the utilization of the pro-oxidant property of vitamin C in various therapeutic applications. In particular, the design of the nanoparticle form of vitamin C and the other nanotechnology approach to enhance the pro-oxidant property of vitamin C have been reviewed. We discuss the chemical origin of the antioxidant or the pro-oxidant property of vitamin C under different conditions and highlight the advantages of the nanoparticle form of vitamin C (or nano-vitamin C) in enhancing the performance. It has been shown that nanotechnology approaches offer an enhanced cell delivery of vitamin C with enhanced intracellular Fenton reaction-based oxidative stress and Ferroptosis therapy. As a result, the pro-oxidant property of vitamin C can now be utilized at a physiologically relevant vitamin C concentration that was not possible earlier. We expect that nanotechnology approaches of enhancing the pro-oxidant property of vitamin C would emerge as a powerful therapeutic approach.