Advances in nanotechnology for early cancer diagnosis: emerging nanoplatforms and multimodal imaging approaches

Nanotechnology has revolutionized the field of cancer diagnosis, by enabling the development of innovative platforms for diagnosis that offer the potential to identify malignancies at an early stage, and they possess an unprecedented degree of sensitivity and specificity. This review focuses on the combination of nanotechnology and different imaging modality such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and optical imaging which demonstrate the potential to target tumour with high precision. We delve into the physicochemical characteristics of nanoparticles such as size, surface charge and functionalization that allow nanoparticles to cross the biological barriers, preferentially accumulate in tumor sites and deliver diagnostic and therapeutic payloads. Special attention is paid to the achievements in multimodal and theranostics platforms, where a single nanoparticle is able to perform both imaging and therapy at the same time. While these have great potential, there are challenges with clinical translation of these technologies ranging from biodistribution, toxicity, immunogenicity and regulatory hurdles. Despite these hurdles the accumulating amount of clinical evidence indicates that nanotechnology will have a significant role in precision oncology that will move from the experimental stages to routine clinical use, thus changing the paradigms of cancer detection and treatment.