Metallic Nanoparticles in Imaging and Therapy: An overview

Abstract

Nanoparticles are tiny particles that have been extensively utilized in fields such as medicine, electronics and environmental science. A common trend in nanoparticle applications is the use one specific nanoparticle type for a particular application. Therefore, several types of nanoparticles have been researched and proposed for a specific application. It was noticed that producing core-shell, multi-layered and/or composite nanostructures enable the versatile use of such structures in multiple applications. Such scenarios are often called as multimodal applications where nanoparticles serve multiple roles, such as imaging and therapy. Metallic nanoparticles are suitable candidates for multimodal applications. In addition, they could be employed in various applications including imaging, drug delivery applications, medical technologies, water cleaning applications, storage device applications. Multimodal applications are special cases where nanoparticles possess both diagnostic and therapeutic characteristics, commonly referred to as theranostics. The use of nanoparticles in theranostic applications is a growing trend with various nanoparticles and nanocomposites were extensively discussed in the literature. In this regard the use of magnetic nanoparticles having great potential in imaging and therapy applications are also encouraging and their unique potential also renders them highly suitable candidates for theranostic applications. In this short report, we aim to provide insights into the state of art and illustrate specific applications of metallic nanoparticles and magnetic nanoparticles used in imaging and therapy.