Abstract:
Modern-day search for the novel agents (their preparation and consequent implementation) to effectively treat
the cancer is mainly fuelled by the historical failure of the conventional treatment modalities. Apart from that,
the complexities such as higher rate of cell mutations, variable tumor microenvironment, patient-specific disparities,
and the evolving nature of cancers have made this search much stronger in the latest times. As a result of
this, in about two decades, the theranostic nanoparticles (TNPs) – i.e., nanoparticles that integrate therapeutic
and diagnostic characteristics – have been developed. The examples for TNPs include mesoporous silica nanoparticles,
luminescence nanoparticles, carbon-based nanomaterials, metal nanoparticles, and magnetic nanoparticles.
These TNPs have emerged as single and powerful cancer-treating multifunctional nanoplatforms, as
they widely provide the necessary functionalities to overcome the previous/conventional limitations including
lack of the site-specific delivery of anti-cancer drugs, and real-time continuous monitoring of the target cancer
sites while performing therapeutic actions. This has been mainly possible due to the association of the asdeveloped
TNPs with the already-available unique diagnostic (e.g., luminescence, photoacoustic, and magnetic
resonance imaging) and therapeutic (e.g., photothermal, photodynamic, hyperthermia therapy) modalities
in the biomedical field. In this review, we have discussed in detail about the recent developments on the
aforementioned important TNPs without/with targeting ability (i.e., attaching them with ligands or tumorspecific
antibodies) and also the strategies that are implemented to increase their tumor accumulation and to
enhance their theranostic efficacies for effective biomedical cancer treatments.
Description:
Paper published in the journal Materials Science and Engineering: C, Volume 127, August 2021, 112199. Our institutional author is Dipak Maity, Department of Chemical Engineering (SOE).