Smart solution of severe problems: Radiolabeled nanocarriers for cancer imaging and therapy

Nanotechnology, an interdisciplinary research field, has created a real hype about their promising potential in early diagnosis, accurate detection, and treatment of numerous diseases, particularly for cancer. The ability of nanoparticles to present revolutionary interactions with biomolecules has promoted the diagnosis and treatment. Nanoparticles (NPs) research has flourished in the past decades. In current years, increasing research efforts have been directed towards creating nanocarriers as a platform for radiolabelling to serve the purpose of targeted drug delivery and molecular imaging. Each imaging modality is unique in having the edge over the other imaging approaches. Positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging approaches have offered an extraordinary part in envisaging biological processes in vivo non-invasively at molecular as well as cellular levels. This review aims to provide an insight into the role of the radiolabeled nanocarriers in theranostics. With the ability to offer vast flexibility, radiolabeled nanocarriers have the potential to greatly influence the diagnosis of disease as well as its management in the near future. Here, we reviewed different kinds of radiolabelled nanocarriers for tumor imaging and therapy.