ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors summarize the various types of organic–inorganic hybrid nanomaterials for cancer imaging. They introduce some examples of theranostic hybrid nanoparticles (NP) which might allow the clinicians to more effectively monitor the progress of cancer and treat it with more efficacy. Cancer is a generic group of diseases that can affect different parts of the body. The tremendous development of nanomaterials with fine tuning of the composition, shape, size and chemical functionalities has brought hopes to overcome the limitations of small molecules. NPs are among these new nanomaterials which possess large payloads, high signal intensity/stability, avidity and the capacity for multiple and simultaneous applications due to their high surface area to volume ratio. Hybrid materials are emerging as powerful platforms for cancer imaging applications. In order to maximize the accumulation and detection accuracy of NPs as imaging agents in the tumor, it is essential to take particle size, shape and surface chemistry as design parameters into consideration.
