Theranostic Nanomaterials Research Articles

Recent Advances in Theranostic Applications of Nanomaterials in Cancer.

Early detection and accurate monitoring are two critical factors affecting the outcome of anticancer therapy. However, both these factors are affected by the limitations of conventional approaches of diagnosis and treatment. Nanomedicine has progressively offered a scientific solution in improved delivery and better diagnosis of various cancers, thus providing a targeted treatment approach. With the advances in the field, simultaneous delivery and diagnosis are becoming a reality. The present manuscript discusses various drug delivery challenges, provides the scope for theranostic nanomaterials in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The clinical and translational potential of theranostic nanomedicine and the future directions for further research are also presented in the manuscript.

Hybrid lanthanide-doped rattle-type thermometers for theranostics

We show that HPMO-inorganic rattles can serve as a vehicle for drug delivery and release together with thermometry potentially leading to a new generation of theranostic nanomaterials.

Emerging Theranostic Nanomaterials in Diabetes and Its Complications.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) refers to a group of metabolic disorders that are characterized by hyperglycemia. Oral subcutaneously administered antidiabetic drugs such as insulin, glipalamide, and metformin can temporarily balance blood sugar levels, however, long‐term administration of these therapies is associated with undesirable side effects on the kidney and liver. In addition, due to overproduction of reactive oxygen species and hyperglycemia‐induced macrovascular system damage, diabetics have an increased risk of complications. Fortunately, recent advances in nanomaterials have provided new opportunities for diabetes therapy and diagnosis. This review provides a panoramic overview of the current nanomaterials for the detection of diabetic biomarkers and diabetes treatment. Apart from diabetic sensing mechanisms and antidiabetic activities, the applications of these bioengineered nanoparticles for preventing several diabetic complications are elucidated. This review provides an overall perspective in this field, including current challenges and future trends, which may be helpful in informing the development of novel nanomaterials with new functions and properties for diabetes diagnosis and therapy.

Potential Production of Theranostic Boron Nitride Nanotubes (64Cu-BNNTs) Radiolabeled by Neutron Capture.

In this work, the radioisotope 64Cu was obtained from copper (II) chloride dihydrate in a nuclear research reactor by neutron capture, (63Cu(n,γ)64Cu), and incorporated into boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) using a solvothermal process. The produced 64Cu-BNNTs were analyzed by TEM, MEV, FTIR, XDR, XPS and gamma spectrometry, with which it was possible to observe the formation of64Cu nanoparticles, with sizes of up to 16 nm, distributed through nanotubes. The synthesized of 64Cu nanostructures showed a pure photoemission peak of 511 keV, which is characteristic of gamma radiation. This type of emission is desirable for Photon Emission Tomography (PET scan) image acquisition, as well as its use in several cancer treatments. Thus, 64Cu-BNNTs present an excellent alternative as theranostic nanomaterials that can be used in diagnosis and therapy by different techniques used in nuclear medicine.

Iron-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles as Multifunctional Nanoplatforms for Theranostics.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are currently among the most promising nanomaterials for theranostics. However, they suffer from some drawbacks that could prevent their application in nanomedicine as theranostic agents. The doping of ZnO NPs can be effectively exploited to enhance the already-existing ZnO properties and introduce completely new functionalities in the doped material. Herein, we propose a novel synthetic approach for iron-doped ZnO (Fe:ZnO) NPs as a multifunctional theranostic nanoplatform aimed at cancer cell treatment. Pure ZnO and Fe:ZnO NPs, with two different levels of iron doping, were synthesized by a rapid wet-chemical method and analyzed in terms of morphology, crystal structure and chemical composition. Interestingly, Fe:ZnO NPs featured bioimaging potentialities thanks to superior optical properties and novel magnetic responsiveness. Moreover, iron doping provides a way to enhance the electromechanical behavior of the NPs, which are then expected to show enhanced therapeutic functionalities. Finally, the intrinsic therapeutic potentialities of the NPs were tested in terms of cytotoxicity and cellular uptake with both healthy B lymphocytes and cancerous Burkitt’s lymphoma cells. Furthermore, their biocompatibility was tested with a pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cell line (BxPC-3), where the novel properties of the proposed iron-doped ZnO NPs can be potentially exploited for theranostics.

The State of the Art of Theranostic Nanomaterials for Lung, Breast, and Prostate Cancers.

The synthesis and engineering of nanomaterials offer more robust systems for the treatment of cancer, with technologies that combine therapy with imaging diagnostic tools in the so-called nanotheranostics. Among the most studied systems, there are quantum dots, liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, inorganic nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, dendrimers, and gold nanoparticles. Most of the advantages of nanomaterials over the classic anticancer therapies come from their optimal size, which prevents the elimination by the kidneys and enhances their permeation in the tumor due to the abnormal blood vessels present in cancer tissues. Furthermore, the drug delivery and the contrast efficiency for imaging are enhanced, especially due to the increased surface area and the selective accumulation in the desired tissues. This property leads to the reduced drug dose necessary to exert the desired effect and for a longer action within the tumor. Finally, they are made so that there is no degradation into toxic byproducts and have a lower immune response triggering. In this article, we intend to review and discuss the state-of-the-art regarding the use of nanomaterials as therapeutic and diagnostic tools for lung, breast, and prostate cancer, as they are among the most prevalent worldwide.

Theranostic Advances of Bionanomaterials against Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Preliminary Review.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most frequent complication during pregnancy. This complex disease is characterized by glucose intolerance and consequent hyperglycemia that begins or is first diagnosed in pregnancy, and affects almost 7% of pregnant women. Previous reports have shown that GDM is associated with increased pregnancy complications and might cause abnormal fetal development. At present, treatments are not suitable for the prevention and management of these patients. As an alternative therapeutic opportunity and a leading scientific technique, nanotechnology has helped enlighten the health of these affected women. Theranostic nanomaterials with unique properties and small sizes (at least <100 nm in one of their dimensions) have been recently engineered for clinics and pharmaceutics. Reducing materials to the nanoscale has successfully changed their properties and enabled them to uniquely interact with cell biomolecules. Several biosensing methods have been developed to monitor glucose levels in GDM patients. Moreover, cerium oxide nanoparticles (NPs), selenium NPs, polymeric NPs, and drug-loaded NPs loaded with therapeutic agents have been used for GDM treatment. Still, there are some challenges associated with the detection limits and toxicity of such nanomaterials. This preliminary review covers the aspects from a fast-developing field to generating nanomaterials and their applications in GDM diagnosis and treatment.

Preparation of Multifunctional N-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots from Citrus clementina Peel: Investigating Targeted Pharmacological Activities and the Potential Application for Fe3+ Sensing.

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have recently emerged as innovative theranostic nanomaterials, enabling fast and effective diagnosis and treatment. In this study, a facile hydrothermal approach for N-doped biomass-derived CQDs preparation from Citrus clementina peel and amino acids glycine (Gly) and arginine (Arg) has been presented. The gradual increase in the N-dopant (amino acids) nitrogen content increased the quantum yield of synthesized CQDs. The prepared CQDs exhibited good biocompatibility, stability in aqueous, and high ionic strength media, similar optical properties, while differences were observed regarding the structural and chemical diversity, and biological and antioxidant activity. The antiproliferative effect of CQD@Gly against pancreatic cancer cell lines (CFPAC-1) was observed. At the same time, CQD@Arg has demonstrated the highest quantum yield and antioxidant activity by DPPH scavenging radical method of 81.39 ± 0.39% and has been further used for the ion sensing and cellular imaging of cancer cells. The obtained results have demonstrated selective response toward Fe3+ detection, with linear response ranging from 7.0 µmol dm−3 to 50.0 µmol dm−3 with R2 = 0.9931 and limit of detection (LOD) of 4.57 ± 0.27 µmol dm−3. This research could be a good example of sustainable biomass waste utilization with potential for biomedical analysis and ion sensing applications.

Comprehensive review on ultrasound-responsive theranostic nanomaterials: mechanisms, structures and medical applications.

The field of theranostics has been rapidly growing in recent years and nanotechnology has played a major role in this growth. Nanomaterials can be constructed to respond to a variety of different stimuli which can be internal (enzyme activity, redox potential, pH changes, temperature changes) or external (light, heat, magnetic fields, ultrasound). Theranostic nanomaterials can respond by producing an imaging signal and/or a therapeutic effect, which frequently involves cell death. Since ultrasound (US) is already well established as a clinical imaging modality, it is attractive to combine it with rationally designed nanoparticles for theranostics. The mechanisms of US interactions include cavitation microbubbles (MBs), acoustic droplet vaporization, acoustic radiation force, localized thermal effects, reactive oxygen species generation, sonoluminescence, and sonoporation. These effects can result in the release of encapsulated drugs or genes at the site of interest as well as cell death and considerable image enhancement. The present review discusses US-responsive theranostic nanomaterials under the following categories: MBs, micelles, liposomes (conventional and echogenic), niosomes, nanoemulsions, polymeric nanoparticles, chitosan nanocapsules, dendrimers, hydrogels, nanogels, gold nanoparticles, titania nanostructures, carbon nanostructures, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, fuel-free nano/micromotors.

Exfoliation and in situ functionalization of MoS2 nanosheets for MRI-guided combined low-temperature photothermal therapy and chemotherapy

Traditional photothermal therapy (PTT) usually requires hyperthermia (greater than50 °C) to mediate effective tumor ablation, which could inevitably induce heating damage to the adjacent normal tissues. Therefore, to achieve effective tumor killing at relatively low temperature is crucial to improve the application of PTT. MoS2, as an attractive photothermal agents, have attracted much attention in biomedical applications. But the separation of exfoliation and functionalization of MoS2 nanosheets (NSs) partly complicates the preparation process of MoS2 NSs-based theranostic nanomaterials. Herein, we formulated a facile one-pot approach for the exfoliation and in situ functionalization of single-layer MoS2 nanosheets by using bovine serum albumin template gadolinium oxide (BSA-Gd2O3) nanoparticles as the exfoliating agent and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T1 contrast agent. On this basis, hyaluronic acid (HA) was further conjugated to target cancer cells with overexpression of CD44, and then gambogic acid (GA), a natural heat shock protein 90 inhibitor and antitumor drug was loaded, which could reduce the thermo-resistance of tumor cells and achieve effective PTT at a mild temperature (43–45 °C). In this research, both in vitro and in vivo experiments have confirmed that the GA/MoS2/BSA-Gd2O3-HA nanocomposite possesses good biocompatibility and is promising for the application in MRI-guided combined low-temperature PTT and chemotherapy.

Nanoparticles as a Tool in Neuro-Oncology Theranostics.

The rapid growth of nanotechnology and the development of novel nanomaterials with unique physicochemical characteristics provides potential for the utility of nanomaterials in theranostics, including neuroimaging, for identifying neurodegenerative changes or central nervous system malignancy. Here we present a systematic and thorough review of the current evidence pertaining to the imaging characteristics of various nanomaterials, their associated toxicity profiles, and mechanisms for enhancing tropism in an effort to demonstrate the utility of nanoparticles as an imaging tool in neuro-oncology. Particular attention is given to carbon-based and metal oxide nanoparticles and their theranostic utility in MRI, CT, photoacoustic imaging, PET imaging, fluorescent and NIR fluorescent imaging, and SPECT imaging.

A Review on Green Synthesis, Characterization and Anticancer Application of Metallic Nanoparticles.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and also the main obstacle of accelerating anticipation. It is globally recognized as overwhelmingly challenging in terms of clinical management. Cancer is taken into account because a prime lethal disease affects different organs of the body. Even with the rapid improvements in the medical sciences, there are no proper medicines to treat specific kinds of cancer. One of the fundamental issues within the malignant growth treatment is the side effect because of conventional treatment systems. Nanotechnology might be an extremely encouraging field for the therapeutic and drug areas; thus, it assumes a crucial part in improving humankind's satisfaction. In the infield of nanotechnology, a plant-mediated fusion of metal nanoparticles has been developed as a substitute to defeat the limitations of traditional synthesis approaches similar to physical and synthetic strategies. These tunable properties of nanomaterials make them progressed apparatuses in the biomedical platform particularly for the improvement of new diagnostics and focused on therapeutics for malignancy.This review incorporates the characterization of nanoparticles with size and shape and features critical uses of biosynthesized green nanomaterials in cancer theranostics.

Metallic nanomaterials in cancer theranostics: A review of Iron oxide and Gold-based nanomaterials

The role of nanotechnology in cancer treatment and diagnosis, especially in the creation of new generation cancer diagnostic and therapeutic instruments, has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. Attempts to incorporate therapeutic and diagnostic properties in a single efficient nanomedicine solution have been made in large numbers. This concept, coined theranostics, is a smart nanosystem capable of diagnosing, successful dissemination, and therapeutic reaction tracking. By integrating clinical functionality with molecular imaging, therapeutic interventions can be useful in the selection of medication, treatment preparation, objective response control and follow-up planning based on the specific molecular characteristics of the disorder. Here, we summarize a number of recent efforts in this regard and demonstrate that therapeutic systems and techniques have considerable potential for tracking and optimizing nanomedicine-mediated drug targeting.

Core-Shell-Structured Covalent-Organic Framework as a Nanoagent for Single-Laser-Induced Phototherapy.

Imaging-guided phototherapy, including photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy, has been emerging as a promising avenue for precision cancer treatment. However, the utilization of a single laser to induce combination phototherapy and multiple-model imaging remains a great challenge. Herein, we report, the first of its kind, a covalent-organic framework (COF)-based magnetic core-shell nanocomposite, Fe3O4@COF-DhaTph, that is used as a multifunctional nanoagent for cancer theranostics under single 660 nm NIR irradiation. Besides significant photothermal and photodynamic effects, it still permits triple-modal magnetic resonance/photoacoustic/near-infrared thermal (IR) imaging due to its unequaled magnetic and optical performance. We believe that the results obtained herein could obviously promote the application of COF-based multifunctional nanomaterials in cancer theranostics.

Smart Self-Assembly Amphiphilic Cyclopeptide-Dye for Near-Infrared Window-II Imaging.

Development of novel nanomaterials for disease theranostics represents an important direction in chemistry and precision medicine. Fluorescent molecular probes in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1000-1700nm) show high promise because of their exceptional high detection sensitivity, resolution, and deep imaging depth. Here, a sharp pH-sensitive self-assembling cyclopeptide-dye, SIMM1000, as a smart nanoprobe for NIR-II imaging of diseases in living animals, is reported. This small molecule assembled nanoprobe exhibits smart properties by responding to a sharp decrease of pH in the tumor microenvironment (pH 7.0 to 6.8), aggregating from small nanoprobe (80nm at pH 7.0) into large nanoparticles (>500nm at pH 6.8) with ≈20-30 times enhanced fluorescence compared with the non-self-assembled CH-4T. It yields micrometer-scale resolution in blood vessel imaging and high contrast and resolution in bone and tumor imaging in mice. Because of its self-aggregation in acidic tumor microenvironments in situ, SIMM1000 exhibits high tumor accumulation and extremely long tumor retention (>19 days), while being excretable from normal tissues and safe. This smart self-assembling small molecule strategy can shift the paradigm of designing new nanomaterials for molecular imaging and drug development.

Application and Future Prospect of Extracellular Matrix Targeted Nanomaterials in Tumor Theranostics.

Systemic chemotherapy and radiotherapy have been widely used in clinics for several decades, but their disadvantages, such as systemic cytotoxicity and severe side effects, are the biggest obstacle to maximum therapeutic efficacy. In recent years, the impact of extracellular matrix components in tumor progression has gained the attention of researchers, and with the rapid development of nanomaterials, extracellular matrix targeted nanomaterials have become a promising strategy in tumor theranostics. In this review, we will outline the recent and relevant examples of various tumor extracellular matrix targeted nanomaterials applied in tumor therapy and imaging. And we will discuss the challenges and prospects of nanomaterials for future tumor therapy.

Recent Advances and Implication of Bioengineered Nanomaterials in Cancer Theranostics.

Cancer is one of the most common causes of death and affects millions of lives every year. In addition to non-infectious carcinogens, infectious agents contribute significantly to increased incidence of several cancers. Several therapeutic techniques have been used for the treatment of such cancers. Recently, nanotechnology has emerged to advance the diagnosis, imaging, and therapeutics of various cancer types. Nanomaterials have multiple advantages over other materials due to their small size and high surface area, which allow retention and controlled drug release to improve the anti-cancer property. Most cancer therapies have been known to damage healthy cells due to poor specificity, which can be avoided by using nanosized particles. Nanomaterials can be combined with various types of biomaterials to make it less toxic and improve its biocompatibility. Based on these properties, several nanomaterials have been developed which possess excellent anti-cancer efficacy potential and improved diagnosis. This review presents the latest update on novel nanomaterials used to improve the diagnostic and therapeutic of pathogen-associated and non-pathogenic cancers. We further highlighted mechanistic insights into their mode of action, improved features, and limitations.

Recent Advances in the Development of Theranostic Nanoparticles for Cardiovascular Diseases.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. CVD includes a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels such as myocardial infarction, ischemic heart, ischemic injury, injured arteries, thrombosis and atherosclerosis. Amongst these, atherosclerosis is the dominant cause of CVD and is an inflammatory disease of the blood vessel wall. Diagnosis and treatment of CVD remain the main challenge due to the complexity of their pathophysiology. To overcome the limitations of current treatment and diagnostic techniques, theranostic nanomaterials have emerged. The term "theranostic nanomaterials" refers to a multifunctional agent with both therapeutic and diagnostic abilities. Theranostic nanoparticles can provide imaging contrast for a diversity of techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT). In addition, they can treat CVD using photothermal ablation and/or medication by the drugs in nanoparticles. This review discusses the latest advances in theranostic nanomaterials for the diagnosis and treatment of CVDs according to the order of disease development. MRI, CT, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR), and fluorescence are the most widely used strategies on theranostics for CVDs detection. Different treatment methods for CVDs based on theranostic nanoparticles have also been discussed. Moreover, current problems of theranostic nanoparticles for CVDs detection and treatment and future research directions are proposed.

Application of semiconductor nanomaterials in cancer theranostics

Cancer theranostics, which aims to integrate diagnostics and therapy for cancer treatment, has benefited greatly from recent advancements in nanomaterials. This study focuses on the most recent advancements in cancer theranostic techniques using quantum dots, silica nanoparticles, and carbon-based nanomaterials. Over the last decade, responsive nanocarriers made from these nanomaterials have shown promise in cancer-specific theranostics. Several experiments in cell and mouse models have suggested their underlying therapeutic efficacy; however, comprehensive and long-term in vivo clinical evaluations are undoubtedly expected to make these bench-made materials compatible in real-world settings.

Theranostic Applications of Nanomaterials for Ophthalmic Applications

The development of theranostic applications of nanomaterials has presented researchers with a new form of diagnosing and treating diseases, such as cancer, Diabetic Retinopathy, and Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Theranostic have allowed for a bridge between conventional medicine and personalized medicine with the use of nanomaterials. The applications of nanomaterials within medicine (nanomedicine) have changed the diagnosis, monitoring, control, treatment, and prevention of diseases. The effects of the biological interaction of nanomaterials within the human body must be examined further to understand the efficacy, toxicity, and biodistribution. The use of theranostic application of nanomaterials has gained attention in the field of Ophthalmology. The use of theranostic nanomaterials to reduce current treatments, complications, diagnosis, reduce the effects and treat a visually threatening disease is appealing. The benefit of treating ocular diseases with theranostic will allow for better visibility and targeted treatment.