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Review
. 2014 Dec;55(12):1919-22.
doi: 10.2967/jnumed.114.146019. Epub 2014 Nov 20.

Theranostic nanoparticles

Feng Chen  1 , Emily B Ehlerding  2 , Weibo Cai  3
Affiliations
Review

Theranostic nanoparticles

Feng Chen et al. J Nucl Med. 2014 Dec.

Abstract

Theranostic nanoparticles hold the potential to revolutionize disease management. Over the last decade, there has been growing interest in the engineering of various kinds of theranostic nanoparticles for simultaneous cancer imaging and therapy in small animals. Efficient targeting of theranostic nanoparticles to the tumor site is critical for both diagnosis and therapy. However, difficulties still exist in the engineering of biocompatible theranostic nanoparticles with highly specific in vivo tumor-targeting capabilities. Here, we discuss the current and prospective status of theranostic nanoparticles that actively target tumors, as well as the challenges that still exist.

Keywords: active targeting; cancer; nanomedicine; theranostic nanoparticle; theranostics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Organic and inorganic nanoplatforms for theranostic nanoparticle synthesis. NPs: nanoparticles; CNTs: carbon nanotubes; GO: graphene oxide. Images of quantum dots, carbon nanotube, and graphene were acquired from http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2005/September/19090501.asp, http://tradingcomputersnow.com/the-future-is-set-for-carbon-nanotube-trading-computers/, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene, respectively.
Figure 2
Figure 2
In vivo fluorescence activation imaging and PDT treatment response of non-targeted porphysome and folate-porphysome in KB tumor-bearing mice. Tumors are marked by yellow arrows.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) A schematic illustration of Dox-Cu and ZW800 co-loaded ferritin nanocage. (B) In vivo targeted optical imaging of as-developed ferritin nanocages in U87MG tumor-bearing mice. (C) In vivo chemotherapy study in U87MG tumor bearing mice (n=5/group). RFRTs: RGD4C modified ferritins. D-RFRTs: Dox-loaded RFRTs. The tumor is marked by a yellow arrow.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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