ABSTRACT
Because their properties differ from those of their bulk counterparts and can be selected through control of particle size and morphology, nanoparticulate materials offer a wide range of exciting potential applications. The utilitation of nanomaterials and nanotechnological approaches in biology and medicine opens up new exciting possibilities in both medical diagnostics and therapeutics. In particular, magnetic nanoparticles have been envisaged for many biomedical applications.1−8
For example, magnetic nanoparticles can be utilized as drug delivery agents, which can be localized in the body at a site of interest using an external magnetic field. When exposed to an alternating magnetic field, magnetic nanoparticles can serve as powerful heat sources, destroying tumor cells thus allowing the use of these nanomaterials in cancer hyperthermia therapy. Magnetic fluids based on aqueous
dispersions of small size magnetic nanoparticles have also been utilized as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition, magnetic nanoparticles can be relatively easily functionalized with molecules which may impart new properties to the particles. As shown in previous chapters, these could be various biomolecules (e.g. antibodies, oligonucleotides) drug molecules and fluorescent entities. In particular, the combination of both magnetic and fluorescent properties in one nanocomposite can provide new two-in-one multifunctional nanomaterials with a broad range of potential applications. For example, these nanocomposites could serve as multimodal assays for in vitro and in vivo bioimaging applications such as MRI and fluorescence microscopy. They can also be used as bimodal agents for cancer therapy, encompassing photodynamic and hyperthermic capabilities. Fluorescent-magnetic nanocomposites may also be utilized as a multimodal diagnostic and therapeutic tool, which could be used, for example, to identify, diagnose and simultaneously treat various diseases. Other exciting applications of these nanocomposites include cell tracking, cytometry and magnetic separation, which could be easily controlled and monitored using fluorescent microscopy and MRI. Thus in this chapter we will focus on new multifunctional magnetic-fluorescent nanocomposites and their biomedical applications.
