title: Drug delivery/imaging multifunctionality of mesoporous silica-based composite nanostructures.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Biocompatible mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are regarded as one of the most promising inorganic drug delivery systems (DDSs) to concurrently enhance the therapeutic efficiency and mitigate the side effects of anticancer drugs. Elaborately combining multicomponents with MSNs will endow them with specific functionalities for cancer therapy and diagnosis, such as targeted drug delivery, intelligent on-demand drug releasing, synergistic therapy, diagnostic imaging and so on.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review discusses the state-of-the-art potential obstacles and further perspectives of the chemical design/synthesis, in vitro/in vivo pharmaceutical evaluations and potential clinical translations of multifunctional mesoporous silica-based nanomaterials for biotechnological and biomedical applications, especially against cancer. These topics cover the years from 2001 to 2013.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Through the comprehensive evaluations of the biosafety and pharmaceutical efficiency, elaborately designed/fabricated mesoporous silica-based composite nanoparticles show great potentials in clinical applications for efficient diagnostic imaging and chemotherapy of cancer.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures , Shanghai, 200050 , PR China +0086 21 52413122 ; +0086 21 64250740 ; jlshi@sunm.shcnc.ac.cn , hrchen@mail.sic.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hangrong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jianlin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D016062:Porosity; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
keywords: cancer; drug delivery; mesoporous silica; nanomedicine; theranostic