Nanoparticle to deliver and track drug

New nanoparticle has been created with iron oxide to function as "theranostics." The term "theranostics" refers to simultaneously treating and diagnosing. The particles are being used for cancer cells, specifically breast cancer and lung cancer. The nanoparticles release the drug for treatment and can also be tracked, allowing for better monitoring of the drug and its affects. This way, doses can be adjusted more easily for better results.

This is an interesting development in biomedical engineering for students in Physiology class because of our long term project to come up with a nanobot to cure a disease. Many groups also looked into drug delivery as a method for the nanobots, and considered methods of tracking the bots.

News article:
http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-technology/new-nanoparticle-delivers-tracks-cancer-drugs

Literature (explains particle synthesis and method of monitoring drug):
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn404407g?prevSearch=boyer&searchHistoryKey=