Open AccessApplication of Nanotechnology in Cancer Therapy and Imaging
Author(s) -
Wang Xu,
Yang Lily,
Chen Zhuo Georgia,
Shin Dong M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
ca: a cancer journal for clinicians
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 62.937
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1542-4863
pISSN - 0007-9235
DOI - 10.3322/ca.2007.0003
Subject(s) - cancer therapy , nanotechnology , cancer , cancer imaging , cancer cell , molecular imaging , cancer treatment , cancer research , materials science , medicine , biology , in vivo , microbiology and biotechnology
Recent developments in nanotechnology have provided researchers with new tools for cancer imaging and treatment. This technology has enabled the development of nanoscale devices that can be conjugated with several functional molecules simultaneously, including tumor‐specific ligands, antibodies, anticancer drugs, and imaging probes. Since these nanodevices are 100 to 1,000‐fold smaller than cancer cells, they can be easily transferred through leaky blood vessels and interact with targeted tumor‐specific proteins both on the surface of and inside cancer cells. Therefore, their application as cancer cell‐specific delivery vehicles will be a significant addition to the currently available armory for cancer therapeutics and imaging.