Table 2.

Main characteristics of the different nanoparticle systems most used for the imaging of head and neck cancer.

Nanomaterial	Main Characteristics	Refs.
Phospholipid structures	Increased contrast for tumor, liver, and blood vessels Broad spectral distinction between the absorption of Pt(TPNP) (~700 nm) Enhanced nanocarrier aggregation	[193,196]
Gold NPs	Boost the surgical prognosis of infiltrative HNC Optical image-guided surgery of HNC	[194,203]
Graphene	Similar binding affinity to GRPR on HSC-3 cells Cellular internalization properties	[195]
Quantum dots	Alpha-β6 integrin-specific binding Highly effective nanoprobes for NIR biosensing and imaging-guided surgery	[198]
Hydrogel	Favorable synergistic antitumor effect and appropriate biosafety Increase the preservation of nanodrugs at the tumor cells	[202]