ABSTRACT

Over the past two decades, engineered nanoparticles (NPs) that interface with biological systems have attracted widespread interest in the elds of biology, (bio)medicine, and related life sciences and without doubt will open up novel diagnostic and therapeutic applications, well beyond current boundaries. Particles in the nanometer range, typically smaller than 100 nm in at least one dimension, have been developed as imaging agents in biological and (bio)medical research and as drug delivery vehicles in (bio)medicine. Recently, various research groups have combined these modalities to create particles that are capable of both tracking and highlighting abnormalities, for example, tumors, and are able to carry and release a therapeutic payload. Such particles would allow an immediate decision making on the part of the physician and therapeutic intervention in situ.