Chapter 24 - Mesoporous silica nanoparticles for cancer theranostic applications

Abstract

Theranostic appears as rapidly emerging strategy combining both the diagnostic and therapeutic purposes for the precision or personalized medicine. The precision depends on the incorporation of specific molecular moieties to target definitive cells, namely cancer to either monitor the progression of the disease (by imaging) or deliver the therapeutics. The large surface area, flexible size, tunable pore sizes, large pore volume, optical transparency, low-mass density, low toxicity, and high-loading capacity of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) make it suitable candidate for theragnostic purpose. The major advantage of MSNs is its large internal pore volume that suitably carries the therapeutics and the supramolecular counterpart acting as cap, which traps and releases the therapeutics on demand. In addition, the surface of MSNs can easily be engineered with specific ligands that allow multilabeling for noninvasive molecular imaging including the optical imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and positron emission tomography for early detection. This chapter outlined the recent advancement of MSNs-based cutting-edge cancer theragnostic that combine both diagnostic and therapeutic functionalities with the ultimate goal of treatment of cancer in past decades. It also includes the technological fundamentals involved in the fabrication and modifications of MSNs.