Application of nanotechnology in cancer therapy and imaging.

Recent developments in nanotechnology have provided researchers with new tools for cancer imaging and treatment. This technology has enabled the development of nanoscale devices that can be conjugated with several functional molecules simultaneously, including tumor-specific ligands, antibodies, anticancer drugs, and imaging probes. Since these nanodevices are 100 to 1,000-fold smaller than cancer cells, they can be easily transferred through leaky blood vessels and interact with targeted tumor-specific proteins both on the surface of and inside cancer cells. Therefore, their application as cancer cell-specific delivery vehicles will be a significant addition to the currently available armory for cancer therapeutics and imaging.