Combinatorial nanoparticles for cancer diagnosis and therapy

Nanotechnology when engineered together with biotechnology opens a fascinating field with applications in diverse areas such as drug targeting and delivery, medical imaging, biosensing, biomaterials and nanotechnology. Conjugating nanoparticles with biomolecules like QD-herceptin conjugates or QD-aptamer (Apt)-DOX conjugates provides many opportunities for improving many of the current challenges in cancer diagnosis and therapy. This paper reviews combinatorial nanoparticles designed and formulated for cancer imaging and therapy, including inorganic nanoparticles (quantum dots, iron oxide particles, gold nanoparticles and silica and carbon nanoparticles), polymeric nanoparticles (PLGA, PLGA-PEG, PAMAM), liposomes and lipid nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are multifunctional in nature and combine two or more functions like targeting, imaging and therapy. In this review, we have classified these combinatorial targeted nanoparticles into inorganic, polymeric and liposome based nanosystems.