Table 1.
Active cancer-targeting strategies of magnetic nanoparticle biomedical applications
| Active ligand | Surface receptors | Cancer cells | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| RGD peptide | Integrin αVβ3 | Breast carcinomas | siRNA delivery (47) |
| Glioblastoma | Brain tumor diagnosis by MRI and near-infrared fluorescent (NIRF) imaging (79) | ||
| Activated platelets | Thrombus visualization by MRI (80) | ||
| CTX (chlorotoxin) | MMP-2 (matrix metalloproteinase-2) | Gliomas medulloblastomas | Brain tumor diagnosis by MRI (81, 82) |
| Herceptin | HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) | Breast cancer | Platin delivery (83, 84) Breast cancer diagnosis by MRI (7) Localized hyperthermia (85) |
| Anti-TfR (transferrin receptor) MAb | TfR (transferrin receptor) | Hematopoietic and neural progenitor cells | MR tracking of cell differentiation and migration (86, 87) |
| Gliosarcomas | MR detection of gene expression (88) | ||
| Tf (transferrin) | Cervical cancer | Gene delivery (89) | |
| LHRH (luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone) | LHRHR (luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone receptor) | Breast cancer Ovarian cancer | Targeted Fe-induced apoptosis in cancer treatment (90) Breast tumor and metastases detection by MRI (91, 92) |
| FA (folic acid) | FAR (folic acid receptor) | Breast cancer Epithelial carcinomas | Early diagnosis by MRI (93, 94) |