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Review
. 2011 Apr;31(4):295-302.
doi: 10.1007/s10059-011-0051-5. Epub 2011 Feb 25.

Nanomaterials for cancer therapy and imaging

Ki Hyun Bae  1 , Hyun Jung Chung, Tae Gwan Park
Affiliations
Review

Nanomaterials for cancer therapy and imaging

Ki Hyun Bae et al. Mol Cells. 2011 Apr.

Abstract

A variety of organic and inorganic nanomaterials with dimensions below several hundred nanometers are recently emerging as promising tools for cancer therapeutic and diagnostic applications due to their unique characteristics of passive tumor targeting. A wide range of nanomedicine platforms such as polymeric micelles, liposomes, dendrimers, and polymeric nanoparticles have been extensively explored for targeted delivery of anti-cancer agents, because they can accumulate in the solid tumor site via leaky tumor vascular structures, thereby selectively delivering therapeutic payloads into the desired tumor tissue. In recent years, nanoscale delivery vehicles for small interfering RNA (siRNA) have been also developed as effective therapeutic approaches to treat cancer. Furthermore, rationally designed multi-functional surface modification of these nanomaterials with cancer targeting moieties, protective polymers, and imaging agents can lead to fabrication versatile theragnostic nanosystems that allow simultaneous cancer therapy and diagnosis. This review highlights the current state and future prospects of diverse biomedical nanomaterials for cancer therapy and imaging.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.. A schematic diagram displaying several important biological systems and artificially engineered nanomaterials in a wide range of sizes.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.. Schematic illustration depicting the cancer-targeted accumulation of nanovehicles via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.. siRNA delivery by polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) micelles. (A) siRNA is condensed with a cationic material by electrostatic interactions into nano-sized PEC micelles. A stealth region is introduced to improve stability and prolong blood circulation in vivo. (B) A targeting moiety can be incorporated to the PEC micelles for localization to target sites.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.. Theragnostic nanomaterials: a contrast agent material carrying anti-cancer drug is localized into the tumor site of interest, which can be monitored in vivo by imaging techniques.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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