Magnetic, fluorescent and hybrid nanoparticles: From synthesis to application in biosystems

Multifunctional nanoparticles have emerged as an outstanding candidate for a new generation of biomedical applications, mainly due to their remarkable properties and biocompatibility. Individual reports on multi-metal, semiconducting and superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPIONs), elucidating on each's unique intrinsic properties, have demonstrated that the biological application of such materials is highly dependent of their size, shape, surface nature and core nature. However, reviews combining nanoparticles with multiple properties, as fluorescence and paramagnetism, as well as, biocompatibility, toxicology and biodegradability are yet seldom. This review highlights the highest output advances, of the last decade, on synthetic procedures for the design of multifunctional magneto-luminescent hybrid nanosystems based on quantum dots, SPIONs and mesoporous silica nanoparticles, as well as, surface modifications and their role for biological applications.