The role and scope of functional inorganic nanoparticles in biomedical research is well established. Among these, iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have gained maximum attention as they can provide targeting, imaging and therapeutic capabilities. Furthermore, incorporation of organic optical probes with IONPs can significantly enhance the scope and viability of their biomedical applications. Combination of two or more such applications renders multimodality in nanoparticles, which can be exploited to obtain synergistic benefits in disease detection and therapy viz theranostics, which is a key trait of nanoparticles for advanced biomedical applications. This review focuses on the use of IONPs conjugated with organic optical probe/s for multimodal diagnostic and therapeutic applications in vivo.
Keywords: MRI; iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs); magnetic hyperthermia therapy (MHT); near infra-red (NIR); optical imaging (OI); photodynamic therapy (PDT); photosensitizers (PS); photothermal therapy (PTT).