Image-guided photonic energy deposition for cancer ablation and drug delivery

Novel nanoparticles, including various gold nanostructures with intrinsic optical properties can be tuned to have strong absorption in the near-infrared region. These nanoparticles have been shown to be useful for a variety of potential applications in biomedicine, including cancer molecular imaging, photothermal ablation therapy, and controlled drug delivery. In this article, we provide an up-to-date review of these nanoparticles integrating both diagnostic and therapeutic functions, and their applications in image-guided cancer therapy.