title: Near-infrared light-responsive nanomaterials for cancer theranostics.
abstract: Early diagnosis and effective cancer therapy are required, to properly treat cancer, which causes more than 8.2 million deaths in a year worldwide. Among various cancer treatments, nanoparticle-based cancer therapies and molecular imaging techniques have been widely exploited over the past decades to overcome current drawbacks of existing cancer treatments. In particular, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene oxide (GO), and upconversion nanocrystals (UNCs) have attracted tremendous attention from researchers due to their near-infrared (NIR) light-responsive behaviors. These nanomaterials are considered new multifunctional platforms for cancer theranostics. They would enable on-demand control of drug release or molecular imaging in response to a remote trigger by NIR light exposure. This approach allows the patient or physician to adjust therapy precisely to a target site, thus greatly improving the efficacy of cancer treatments, while reducing undesirable side effects. In this review, we have summarized the advantages of NIR light-responsive nanomaterials for in vivo cancer treatments, which includes NIR triggered photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Furthermore, recent developments, perspectives, and new challenges of NIR light-responsive nanomaterials are discussed for cancer theranostic applications.
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Global Top 5 Research Program, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Heejung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Nano Science, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyungwha
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Global Top 5 Research Program, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seungjin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Nano Science, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Ha
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Global Top 5 Research Program, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyukjin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D007259:Infrared Rays; D051379:Mice; D057054:Molecular Imaging; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D000068936:Theranostic Nanomedicine