Fig. 1

Class of nanomedicines applied in medical fields. a Nanoliposome used for the delivery of therapeutic drugs or imaging agents. i Schematic illustration of PEGylated liposomes bearing 9AzSia that can be injected i.v. through the tail vein. ii Schematic description of 9AzSia incorporation mechanism into the brain tissue through the binding to sialic acid. iii The liposomes bearing 9AzSia were significantly accumulated in the brain tissue compared to other conditions. Reproduced with permission [36]. Copyright 2016, PNAS. b Polymeric nanoparticles employed for the targeted drug delivery. i Schematic representation of paclitaxel-loaded Angiopep-PEG-PCL nanoparticles. ii Angiopep-conjugation increased targeting efficiency of brain tumors. Reproduced with permission [62]. Copyright 2011, ELSEVIER. c Multimodal iron oxide nanoparticles equipping both MRI and near-infrared PTT techniques. i Cartoon illustration of PEGylated Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles along with magnets under the magnetic field or laser irradiation for MRI or PTT. ii MRI images of HeLa bearing tumor mice without (upper) or with magnets (bottom). iii, iv Complete elimination of tumors in mice receiving magnetic targeted PTT. Reproduced with permission [90]. Copyright 2014, ELSEVIER. d Gold nanoparticles achieving multiple colored-imaging. i Schematic of SERS nanoparticles, a gold core coated with a Raman active layer. Depending on the type of Raman layer, the nanoparticles emit different colors. ii Combined images of multiplexing 10 different SERS nanoparticles confirmed in in vivo mice models. Reproduced with permission [104]. Copyright 2009, PNAS