ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview on theranostics, the current advances and main strategies using nanoparticles and the recent plasmonic/magnetic generation nanosystems to brain drug delivery for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases therapy. The theranostic systems include therapeutic agents which can be detected by imaging techniques, such as optical imaging, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) or single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), which leads to the reclassification of these therapeutic agents as theranostic agents. Magnetoliposomes combine liposomes and magnetic nanoparticles in a single nanosystem, which can be classified as aqueous magnetoliposomes (AMLs) or solid magnetoliposomes (SMLs), according to whether the nanoparticles are located in the inner aqueous phase of the liposomes or the inner phase consists on a cluster of magnetic nanoparticles. The combination of thermosensitive response with hyperthermia has shown promising results. Nanoparticles have shown remarkable results in in vitro and in vivo theranostics, though few got to clinical assays.
