Designing the Surface Chemistry of Inorganic Nanocrystals for Cancer Imaging and Therapy.

Simple Summary: Inorganic nanocrystals such as gold, iron oxide and semiconductor nanocrystals have intrinsic optical or magnetic properties that make them very promising for cancer detection, imaging and therapy. The surface ligands of these nanoparticles play a critical role in their application and control the nanoparticle interaction with biomolecules and cells. The complex nano-bio interface is, for this reason, gaining increasing attention, and many studies are devoted to either propose new surface chemistries or characterize their impact on nanoparticle imaging and/or therapeutic efficiency. This review presents a general perspective on the design of nanoparticle surface chemistry. Inorganic nanocrystals, such as gold, iron oxide and semiconductor quantum dots, offer promising prospects for cancer diagnostics, imaging and therapy, due to their specific plasmonic, magnetic or fluorescent properties. The organic coating, or surface ligands, of these nanoparticles ensures their colloidal stability in complex biological fluids and enables their functionalization with targeting functions. It also controls the interactions of the nanoparticle with biomolecules in their environment. It therefore plays a crucial role in determining nanoparticle biodistribution and, ultimately, the imaging or therapeutic efficiency. This review summarizes the various strategies used to develop optimal surface chemistries for the in vivo preclinical and clinical application of inorganic nanocrystals. It discusses the current understanding of the influence of the nanoparticle surface chemistry on its colloidal stability, interaction with proteins, biodistribution and tumor uptake, and the requirements to develop an optimal surface chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]