title: Quantum dots for cancer research: current status, remaining issues, and future perspectives.
abstract: Cancer is a major threat to public health in the 21st century because it is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The mechanisms of carcinogenesis, cancer invasion, and metastasis remain unclear. Thus, the development of a novel approach for cancer detection is urgent, and real-time monitoring is crucial in revealing its underlying biological mechanisms. With the optical and chemical advantages of quantum dots (QDs), QD-based nanotechnology is helpful in constructing a biomedical imaging platform for cancer behavior study. This review mainly focuses on the application of QD-based nanotechnology in cancer cell imaging and tumor microenvironment studies both in vivo and in vitro, as well as the remaining issues and future perspectives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Hubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological Behaviors & Hubei Cancer Clinical Study Center, Wuhan 430071, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Chun-Wei
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Dai-Wen
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: molecular imaging; multimodality probes; quantum dots