Thymoquinone (TQ), the active ingredient of black seed, is a promising anticancer molecule that inhibits cancer cell growth and progression in vitro and in vivo. Despite the promising anticancer activities of TQ, its translation to the clinic is limited by its poor bioavailability and hydrophobicity. As such, we and others encapsulated TQ in nanoparticles to improve its delivery and limit undesirable cytotoxicity. These TQ-nanoparticle formulations showed improved anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities when compared with free TQ. Here, we provide an overview of the various TQ-nanoparticle formulations, highlight their superior efficacy and discuss up-to-date solutions to further enhance TQ bioavailability and anticancer activity, thus improving potential for clinical translation.

胸腺素（TQ）是黑种子的活性成分，是一种有前途的抗癌分子，可在体外和体内抑制癌细胞的生长和进程。尽管TQ具有良好的抗癌活性，但由于其生物利用度和疏水性差，其在临床上的应用受到限制。因此，我们和其他人将TQ封装在纳米颗粒中，以改善其传递并限制不良的细胞毒性。与游离TQ相比，这些TQ纳米颗粒制剂显示出改善的抗癌和抗炎活性。在这里，我们提供了各种TQ纳米颗粒制剂的概述，着重介绍了其卓越的功效，并讨论了最新的解决方案，以进一步增强TQ的生物利用度和抗癌活性，从而提高了临床翻译的潜力。