ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the examples of Prussian blue nanoparticles (PBNPs) and Prussian blue analogue nanoparticles (PBANPs) and their biomedical applications in cancer theranostics. The chromic center of Prussian blue (PB) is ferric ferrocyanide and the Roman superscripts on the formula tell about the oxidation states of respective iron atoms. The therapeutic applications of PB, PBNPs and PBANPs are summarized below under different sub headings. PBNPs are the new class of drug delivery vehicles with vast number of applications in biology and medicine. The authors claimed that modification of PBNPs surface with hyaluronic acid and poly ethylene glycol significantly increased the stability and long circulation period in blood. The challenge is to synthesize and develop novel and nontoxic PBNPs and PBANPs for multifunctional cancer theranostics applications. The cyanide functional group in the PB remains strongly bound with iron metal and does not show any toxicity on biological system.
