Recent progress of nanotechnology-based theranostic systems in cancer treatments

Theranostics that integrates therapy and diagnosis in one system to achieve accurate cancer diagnosis and treatment has attracted tremendous interest, and has been recognized as a potential breakthrough in overcoming the challenges of conventional oncotherapy. Nanoparticles are ideal candidates as carriers for theranostic agents, which is attributed to their extraordinary physicochemical properties, including nanoscale sizes, functional properties, prolonged blood circulation, active or passive tumor targeting, specific cellular uptake, and in some cases, excellent optical properties that ideally meet the needs of phototherapy and imaging at the same time. Overall, with the development of nanotechnology, theranostics has become a reality, and is now in the transition stage of “bench to bedside.” In this review, we summarize recent progress on nanotechnology-based theranostics, i.e., nanotheranostics, that has greatly assisted traditional therapies, and has provided therapeutic strategies emerging in recent decades, as well as “cocktail” theranostics mixing various treatment modalities.     

Self-assembled nanoformulations of paclitaxel for enhanced cancer theranostics

Chemotherapy has occupied the critical position in cancer therapy, especially towards the post-operative, advanced, recurrent, and metastatic tumors. Paclitaxel (PTX)-based formulations have been widely used in clinical practice, while the therapeutic effect is far from satisfied due to off-target toxicity and drug resistance. The caseless multi-components make the preparation technology complicated and aggravate the concerns with the excipients-associated toxicity. The self-assembled PTX nanoparticles possess a high drug content and could incorporate various functional molecules for enhancing the therapeutic index. In this work, we summarize the self-assembly strategy for diverse nanodrugs of PTX. Then, the advancement of nanodrugs for tumor therapy, especially emphasis on mono-chemotherapy, combinational therapy, and theranostics, have been outlined. Finally, the challenges and potential improvements have been briefly spotlighted.     

黑色素在医学诊疗上的应用进展

黑色素是分布最为广泛的自然色素之一。由于其特殊的化学结构,黑色素可作为一种新型诊疗介质,具有巨大的开发应用潜力。本文围绕黑色素在疾病诊疗中的应用进展进行综述。     

Regenerative nanotechnology in oral and maxillofacial surgery

Regenerative nanotechnology is at the forefront of medical research, and translational medicine is a challenge to both scientists and clinicians. Although there has been an exponential rise in the volume of research generated about it for both medical and surgical uses, key questions remain about its actual benefits. Nevertheless, some people think that therapeutics based on its principles may form the core of applied research for the future. Here we give an account of its current use in oral and maxillofacial surgery, and implications and challenges for the future.     

Inorganic nanoparticles for cancer imaging and therapy

Inorganic nanoparticles have received increased attention in the recent past as potential diagnostic and therapeutic systems in the field of oncology. Inorganic nanoparticles have demonstrated successes in imaging and treatment of tumors both ex vivo and in vivo, with some promise towards clinical trials. This review primarily discusses progress in applications of inorganic nanoparticles for cancer imaging and treatment, with an emphasis on in vivo studies. Advances in the use of semiconductor fluorescent quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, gold nanoparticles (spheres, shells, rods, cages), iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles and ceramic nanoparticles in tumor targeting, imaging, photothermal therapy and drug delivery applications are discussed. Limitations and toxicity issues associated with inorganic nanoparticles in living organisms are also discussed.     

Nanoparticle-based theranostic agents

Theranostic nanomedicine is emerging as a promising therapeutic paradigm. It takes advantage of the high capacity of nanoplatforms to ferry cargo and loads onto them both imaging and therapeutic functions. The resulting nanosystems, capable of diagnosis, drug delivery and monitoring of therapeutic response, are expected to play a significant role in the dawning era of personalized medicine, and much research effort has been devoted toward that goal. A convenience in constructing such function-integrated agents is that many nanoplatforms are already, themselves, imaging agents. Their well-developed surface chemistry makes it easy to load them with pharmaceutics and promote them to be theranostic nanosystems. Iron oxide nanoparticles, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, gold nanoparticles and silica nanoparticles, have been previously well investigated in the imaging setting and are candidate nanoplatforms for building up nanoparticle-based theranostics. In the current article, we will outline the progress along this line, organized by the category of the core materials. We will focus on construction strategies and will discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with this emerging technology.     

Theranostic applications of antibodies in oncology

Targeted therapies, including antibodies, are becoming increasingly important in cancer therapy. Important limitations, however, are that not every patient benefits from a specific antibody therapy and that responses could be short‐lived due to acquired resistance. In addition, targeted therapies are quite expensive and are not completely devoid of side‐effects. This urges the need for accurate patient selection and response monitoring.An important step towards personalizing antibody treatment could be the implementation of theranostics. Antibody theranostics combine the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of an antibody, thereby selecting those patients who are most likely to benefit from antibody treatment. This review focuses on the clinical application of theranostic antibodies in oncology. It provides detailed information concerning the suitability of antibodies for theranostics, the different types of theranostic tests available and summarizes the efficacy of theranostic antibodies used in current clinical practice. Advanced theranostic applications, including radiolabeled antibodies for non‐invasive functional imagining, are also addressed. Finally, we discuss the importance of theranostics in the emerging field of personalized medicine and critically evaluate recent data to determine the best way to apply antibody theranostics in the future.     

Two-dimensional magnetic WS2@Fe3O4 nanocomposite with mesoporous silica coating for drug delivery and imaging-guided therapy of cancer

Integrating multiple imaging and therapy functionalities into one single nanoscale platform has been proposed to be a promising strategy in cancer theranostics. In this work, WS₂ nanosheets with their surface pre-adsorbed with iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles via self-assembly are coated with a mesoporous silica shell, on to which polyethylene glycol (PEG) is attached. The obtained WS₂-IO@MS-PEG composite nanoparticles exhibit many interesting inherent physical properties, including high near-infrared (NIR) light and X-ray absorbance, as well as strong superparamagnetism. In the mean time, the mesoporous silica shell in WS₂-IO@MS-PEG could be loaded with a chemotherapy drug, doxorubicin (DOX), whose intracellular release afterwards may be triggered by NIR-induced photothermal heating for enhanced cancer cell killing. Upon systemic administration of such drug-loaded nano-theranostics, efficient tumor homing of WS₂-IO@MS-PEG/DOX is observed in tumor-bearing mice as revealed by three-modal fluorescence, magnetic resonance (MR), and X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging. In vivo combined photothermal & chemotherapy is then carried out with WS₂-IO@MS-PEG/DOX, achieving a remarkably synergistic therapeutic effect superior to the respective mono-therapies. Our study highlights the promise of developing multifunctional nanoscale theranostics based on two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as WS₂ for multimodal imaging-guided combination therapy of cancer.     

Cancer nanotheranostics: Strategies,promises and impediments

Cancer has remained one of the most indomitable conundrums for scientists over centuries due to its multifarious etiology. While improved therapeutic and diagnostic approaches have commendably augmented the rate of survival of cancer patients, a holistic riddance from the ailment is still implausible. Hence, further explorations to scout for novel strategies of cancer therapy and diagnosis are necessary. Theranostics (amalgamation of therapy and diagnostics) has emerged as one of the avant-garde strategies, which provides a two-pronged advantage in cancer management. This integrative approach has found immense relevance in light of nanotechnology. Nanoparticles can be customized (loaded with a mélange of therapeutic drugs and diagnostic probes) to develop theranostic properties, thereby constructing nanotheranostic agents. These nano-composites are lucrative tools for cancer cell obliteration and simultaneous monitoring of the drug action, and can also be tailored for targeted drug delivery. Nanotheranostic agents have emerged as a prudent ploy for synchronized cancer intervention and detection of the ‘route and reach’ of the drugs. In this review, we discuss the diversified state-of-the-art facets of theranostic nanoparticles, including various nanoparticle-based platforms as well as the plethora of reported therapeutic drugs, aptamers, markers and diagnostic molecules that have found use in the precincts of nanotheranostics.