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Molecular Cancer Imaging with Polymeric Nanoassemblies: From Tumor Detection to Theranostics
Author(s) -
Mi Peng,
Wang Fang,
Nishiyama Nobuhiro,
Cabral Horacio
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
macromolecular bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.924
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1616-5195
pISSN - 1616-5187
DOI - 10.1002/mabi.201600305
Subject(s) - molecular imaging , magnetic resonance imaging , cancer imaging , cancer detection , cancer , optical imaging , medical imaging , nanotechnology , cancer therapy , biocompatible material , biomedical engineering , medicine , materials science , radiology , in vivo , physics , microbiology and biotechnology , optics , biology
Several imaging modalities have been widely applied for the detection of cancer and its pathological activity in combination with probes capable of improving the contrast between healthy and cancerous tissues. Biocompatible polymeric nanoassemblies have been developed for precise detection of malignant tumors by enhancing the selectivity and sensitivity of the imaging. Exploiting the compartmentalized structure of the nanoassemblies advantageously allows delivering both imaging and therapeutic agents for cancer multifunctional imaging and theranostics, i.e., the combination of therapy and diagnosis tool on a single platform. Thus, nanoassemblies have high potential not only for cancer molecular imaging but also for tracing nanoparticles in biological systems, studying their biological pathways, gathering pathological information, monitoring therapeutic effects, and guiding pinpoint therapies. In this review, polymeric nanoassemblies for optical imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, multifunctional imaging, and image‐guided therapy, emphasizing their role in cancer diagnosis and theranostics are highlighted.