Magnetic Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy and Bioimaging

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and was responsible for 8.8 million deaths in 2015. Nearly, 1 in 6 deaths worldwide is due to cancer. An ancient Egyptian textbook on trauma surgery is the oldest (3000 BC) description of cancer treatment, which mentioned a tool called the fire drill to remove tumors. Hand in hand with the development of modern medicine and physiology, other approaches have appeared although surgery remains the most popular “solution”. During the twentieth century, our knowledge in cancer was greatly increased. Today, most common treatments are based on chemotherapy, which may be combined with surgery and radiation therapy. Despite the extended use of chemotherapeutic drugs, they lack good selectivity and cause manifold off-target effects. These issues combined with the fact that drug resistances are increasingly more common indicate the need for more selective drugs with better targeting capabilities. Some of the most promising candidates to develop these more effective drugs are based on the use of nanomaterials, in particular nanoparticles (NPs). Among the NPs, inorganic NPs are very interesting because they exhibit unique properties derived from their nanometric size. In the literature, there are manifold examples about how to take advantage of the properties of NPs to develop more effective therapies, imaging agents, or biosensors [1]. Since the beginning interest about how nanomaterials interact with living matter, magnetic NPs (MNPs) attracted a huge interest. This attention is related to their unique physicochemical properties. The different responses to external magnetic fields (alternating and non-alternating) or gradients have been applied for different purposes, including therapy, diagnosis, and theranostics. In this book chapter, synthetic fine tailoring of MNPs required to work as therapeutic and/or imaging agents will be discussed in the context of cancer. Most relevant MNP’s applications in therapy and imaging will be described.