CASP9 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Recently, to improve the EPR effect of FA, Cui et al. [148] studied the antitumor effects of FA-modified selenium nanoparticles (FA-Se NPs) in HepG2 cells and reported increased ROS production, MMP disruption, and caspase-9/3 activation compared to FA alone, while ZnO nanoparticles (ZnONPs)-FA (FAC), compared to ZnONPs or FA alone, suppressed hepatocellular cancer progression via ROS production; the inhibition of MMP-2 Bcl-2, and Bcl-xL; and the activation of Bax, Bad, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved PARP [149].