Figure 10.

Theranostic application of uPAR-targeted IONPs. (A) Schematic representation of optical-MRI imaging trackable Dox-loaded ATF-IONPs [238,239]. The near infrared (NIR)-830 dye was conjugated to the targeting moiety, ATF (PDB accession number: 1URK), for optical imaging. Incorporating multiple imaging modalities on the same nanocarrier system provides a valuable way to validate and track the IONPs and, therefore, better investigate tumor targeting and biodistribution of nanoconstructs in animal models. (B) In vivo, these theranostic-targeted nanoparticles allowed for real-time and non-invasive MRI and NIR-optical imaging assessment of targeted drug delivery and distribution, tumor response to treatment, and detection of small drug-resistant residual tumors in orthotopic human pancreatic (shown in 2, reproduced from [238] under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC) License) and breast cancer xenograft models, thus supporting the translation potential of these agents for image-guided therapy of cancer. Created with BioRender.com.