ABSTRACT
Multifunctional smart drug delivery systems (MDDSs) have the potential to provide a clinical diagnostic tool with improved drug targeting efficacy in a single nanosystem. MDDSs with targeted imaging and chemotherapy have a high demand with a great challenge. Thermally responsive externally activated theranostics (TREAT) are multifunctional entities that act as tools for both therapy and diagnosis. These allow for real-time imaging after administration enabling location mapping before initiating drug release. Early diagnosis in disease states such as cancer can mean the difference between life and death. By coupling treatments to diagnostics and controlling drug release, a rapid and localised clinical effect can be achieved and has emerged as a promising approach to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy.
