Functionalized biocompatible nanoparticles for site-specific imaging and therapeutics

Abstract

The applicability of nanoparticles is determined by their unique size-dependent properties, such as their optical and magnetic properties, which make them very attractive candidates for numerous biomedical applications such as drug delivery nanosystems, diagnostic biosensors, and imaging nanoprobes for magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents. Surface chemistry defines the functional properties and biological reactivity of these nanocrystals. Targeted delivery of therapeutics has the potential to localize therapeutic agents to a specific tissue as a mechanism to enhance treatment efficacy and mitigate side effects. Moieties that combine imaging and therapeutic modalities in a single macromolecular construct may confer advantages in the development and applications of nanomedicine. Here, an insight into the development of various kinds of functionalized biocompatible nanoparticles for site-specific imaging and therapeutics is discussed in detail. Folate-conjugated luminomagnetic nanocarrier-mediated targeted drug delivery, showing receptor-mediated endocytosis of folic acid and drug-conjugated luminomagnetic nanocarriers in cancer cells © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.