Magnetic Nanoparticles for Biomedical Imaging and Therapy Applications

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are a recurrent and attractive choice within the biomedical field as imaging and therapeutic agents. Due to their size-dependent properties and multifunctionality, MNPs are currently applied as smart imaging probes or therapeutic agents where the response is triggered in a specific region of interest by an event directly related to a disease. In the last years, the research in MNPs has been focused in the development of MNPs with enhanced properties and reduced toxicity profiles to improve their clinical perspective. This Research Topic will aim to cover the latest advancements in the search of efficient MNPs for applications in biomedical imaging and therapy.

Although with multiple applications in biomedicine, there is still a significant gap between the pre-clinical and clinical use of MNPs. Concerns are usually raised when discussing the potential applications of MNPs in the clinical routine. The efficiency to target a specific region of interest, the excretion pathway and the toxicity profile are, arguably, the main ones. Therefore, major efforts are devoted in the search of MNPs with enhanced properties that ultimately potentiate the clinical perspective. The goal of this Research Topic is to present the latest advancements within the field, from novel synthetic methods to improved imaging response and therapeutic effectiveness. We hope this Research Topic can elucidate whether the MNP research field is moving towards the clinical translation with a next generation of MNPs that can overcome the limitations of previous approaches.

This Research Topic is focused on the main applications of magnetic (superparamagnetic, ferro/ferrimagnetic and paramagnetic) nanoparticles in biomedicine. From their use as probes in advanced imaging modalities to the application as therapeutic agents in hyperthermia, photothermal and photodynamic therapy and as drug delivery systems, MNPs offer a plethora of possibilities that we will aim to cover within this Research Topic
We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini Review and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:
• Novel synthesis methods of MNPs
• MNPs in biomedical imaging (MRI, MPI and multimodal PET-MRI, SPECT-MRI and OI-MRI)
• MNPs in therapy (hyperthermia, drug delivery, photothermal and photodynamic therapy)

Keywords: Magnetic nanoparticles, Medical Imaging, Therapy, Multifunctional probes, Clinical studies.

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.