Nanoshell bioconjugates for integrated imaging and therapy of cancer

Currently, separate diagnostic and therapeutic modalities are required for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In many cases, the present standard of care requires invasive surgical procedures and/or other treatments associated with significant side effect profiles, high cost, and poor clinical outcome. A single technology with dual diagnostic/therapeutic capabilities would potentially yield significant savings in the time and cost associated with diagnosing and treating many cancers. In this paper, we discuss gold nanoshell bioconjugates and their role in the development of an integrated cancer imaging and therapy application. Nanoshells are a novel class of nanomaterials that have unique properties including continuous and broad wavelength tunability, far greater scattering and absorption coefficients, increased chemical stability, and improved biocompatibility. Here, we describe the development of an integrated cancer imaging and therapy application using near-infrared (NIR) gold nanoshell bioconjugates.