Cancer nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary area of research in science, engineering, and medicine with broad applications for molecular imaging, molecular diagnosis, and targeted therapy. The basic rationale is that nanometer-sized particles, such as semiconductor quantum dots and iron oxide nanocrystals, have optical, magnetic, or structural properties that are not available from molecules or bulk solids. When linked with tumor targeting ligands such as monoclonal antibodies, peptides, or small molecules, these nanoparticles can be used to target tumor antigens (biomarkers) as well as tumor vasculatures with high affinity and specificity. In the mesoscopic size range of 5-100 nm diameter, nanoparticles also have large surface areas and functional groups for conjugating to multiple diagnostic (e.g., optical, radioisotopic, or magnetic) and therapeutic (e.g., anticancer) agents. Recent advances have led to bioaffinity nanoparticle probes for molecular and cellular imaging, targeted nanoparticle drugs for cancer therapy, and integrated nanodevices for early cancer detection and screening. These developments raise exciting opportunities for personalized oncology in which genetic and protein biomarkers are used to diagnose and treat cancer based on the molecular profiles of individual patients.

中文翻译：

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纳米技术在癌症中的应用。

癌症纳米技术是科学，工程和医学领域的跨学科研究领域，在分子成像，分子诊断和靶向治疗中有着广泛的应用。基本原理是，纳米尺寸的颗粒（例如半导体量子点和氧化铁纳米晶体）具有无法从分子或大块固体中获得的光学，磁性或结构性质。当与肿瘤靶向配体（例如单克隆抗体，肽或小分子）连接时，这些纳米颗粒可用于以高亲和力和特异性靶向肿瘤抗原（生物标志物）以及肿瘤脉管系统。在直径为5-100 nm的介观尺寸范围内，纳米颗粒还具有较大的表面积和官能团，可与多种诊断方法（例如光学，放射性同位素，或磁性）和治疗（例如抗癌）药物。最近的进展已导致用于分子和细胞成像的生物亲和纳米探针，用于癌症治疗的靶向纳米药物以及用于早期癌症检测和筛选的集成纳米设备。这些发展为个性化肿瘤学带来了令人兴奋的机会，其中基于个体患者的分子概况，使用遗传和蛋白质生物标记物来诊断和治疗癌症。