Iron Oxide@Mesoporous Silica Core-Shell Nanoparticles as Multimodal Platforms for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Magnetic Hyperthermia, Near-Infrared Light Photothermia, and Drug Delivery

Abstract

The design of core-shell nanocomposites composed of an iron oxide core and a silica shell offers promising applications in the nanomedicine field, especially for developing efficient theranostic systems which may be useful for cancer treatments. This review article addresses the different ways to build iron oxide@silica core-shell nanoparticles and it reviews their properties and developments for hyperthermia therapies (magnetically or light-induced), combined with drug delivery and MRI imaging. It also highlights the various challenges encountered, such as the issues associated with in vivo injection in terms of NP–cell interactions or the control of the heat dissipation from the core of the NP to the external environment at the macro or nanoscale.

Keywords

• iron oxide@mesoporous silica
• core-shell nanomaterials
• magnetic resonance imaging
• magnetic hyperthermia
• near-infrared light photothermia
• drug delivery