Nanostructured porous silicon in preclinical imaging: Moving from bench to bedside

Abstract

Advances in nanotechnology have prompted rapid progress and versatile imaging modalities for diagnostics and treatment of diseases. Molecular imaging is a powerful technique for quantifying physiological changes in vivo using noninvasive imaging probes. These probes are used to image specific cells and tissues within a whole organism. Currently, imaging is an essential part of clinical protocols providing morphological, structural, metabolic and functional information. Using theranostic micro-or nanoparticles, which combine both therapeutic and diagnostic capabilities in one single entity, holds a true promise to propel the biomedical field toward personalized medicine. With this approach, biological processes can be directly and simultaneously monitored with the treatment of the diseases. This mini-review highlights the recent innovative diagnostic imaging aspects of porous silicon (PSi) materials and emphasizes their potential as theranostic platforms and tools for the clinic. Multiple biomedical imaging applications of the PSi materials are also outlined.

pH‐Switch Nanoprecipitation of Polymeric Nanoparticles for Multimodal Cancer Targeting and Intracellular Triggered Delivery of Doxorubicin

“…Theranostic nanoparticles can simultaneously be applied to noninvasive diagnosis and treatment monitoring of patients by in vivo imaging techniques, such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography, single‐photon emission computed tomography, and fluorescence imaging . Since in vivo imaging is not necessary with every administered dose, two identical platforms used independently or combined for therapy and imaging can be used .…”

Surface Functionality Features of Porous Silicon Prepared and Treated in Different Conditions

“…Porous silicon (por-Si) is a promising material for sensors, biosensors, and specific medical purposes [1][2][3][4]. Biomedical applications of por-Si involve the use as a carrier for target delivery of single or combined drugs [5][6][7][8][9], photosensitive agents in photodynamic therapy and in tissue engineering [10], various biodetectors, and biomedical imaging [11] including tumor visualization, as well as eye diseases. Modified por-Si layers can be used in biosensors [1,2,4,[12][13][14][15][16][17] for various applications including the determination of glucose, DNA, antibodies, bacteria, and viruses [12][13][14].…”

Nanostructured porous Si-based nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery

“…These nanocarriers have attracted great attention in the scientific community due to their unique properties and potential application in drug delivery applications and cancer treatment and diagnostics 130 , 131 . It is now well-acknowledged that the high specific area, high pore volume, tunable pore structures, and physicochemical stability render these materials excellent multifunctionalities.…”