The Size, Shape, and Composition Design of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles to Combine, MRI, Magnetic Hyperthermia, and Photothermia

In the field of the synthesis and functionalization of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) for biomedical applications, most researches aim at developing multifunctional theranostic NPs, which can both identify disease states and deliver therapy and thus allow following the effect of therapy by imaging. One current challenge for iron oxide-based NPs is the design of NPs able to combine in one nanoobject both hyperthermia and MRI with the best efficiency in order to reduce the dose injected in the patient. Iron oxide NPs are already commercially used as T 2 contrast agent for MRI and have a great potential today. The use of magnetic hyperthermia as therapy for cancer is closer to be a reality thanks to the positive results achieved by the clinical trials carried out by Magforce TM (Germany). Nonetheless, there is currently a need of improving NPs for magnetic hyperthermia and of understanding the magnetic hyperthermia effect at the cell level. More recently, iron oxide NPs were demonstrated to be able to induce a photothermal effect and such results pave the way toward a multimodal therapy using one single iron oxide NPs. This chapter focuses on iron oxide NPs, their high potential as contrast agent for MRI, and on the design of iron oxide NPs for magnetic hyperthermia and photon-induced hyperthermia.