Stimuli-Responsive Iron Oxide Nanotheranostics: A Versatile and Powerful Approach for Cancer Therapy

Recent advancements in unravelling elements of cancer biology involved in disease progression and treatment resistance have highlighted the need for a holistic approach to effectively tackle cancer. Stimuli-responsive nanotheranostics based on iron oxide nanoparticles are an emerging class of versatile nanomedicines with powerful capabilities to "seek, sense, and attack" multiple components of solid tumors. In this work, the rationale for using iron oxide nanoparticles and the basic physical principles that impact their function in biomedical applications are reviewed. Subsequently, recent advances in the integration of iron oxide nanoparticles with various stimulus mechanisms to facilitate the development of stimuli-responsive nanotheranostics for application in cancer therapy are summarized. The integration of an iron oxide core with various surface coating mechanisms results in the generation of hybrid nanoconstructs with capabilities to codeliver a wide variety of highly potent anticancer therapeutics and immune modulators. Finally, emerging future directions and considerations for their clinical translation are touched upon.