Electron microscopy for inorganic-type drug delivery nanocarriers for antitumoral applications: What is possible to see?

Abstract

The use of nanoparticles able to transport drugs, in a selective and controlable manner, directly to diseased tissues and cells have improved the therapeutic arsenal for addressing unmet clinical situations. In the recent years, a vast number of nanocarriers with inorganic, organic, hybrid and even biological nature have been developed, expecially for their application in oncology fied. The exponential growing in the nanomedicine field would not have been possible without the also rapid expansion of electron microscopy techniques, which allow a more precise observation of nanometric objects. The use of these techniques provides a better understanding of the key parameters which rule their synthesis and behavior. In this review, the recent advances performed in the application of inorganic nanoparticles for clinical uses and the role which has played electron microscopy will be presented.