Nanomaterials formulations for photothermal and photodynamic therapy of cancer

Nanomaterials with well-defined size, shape, composition, and surface functionalities offer multimodal and multifunctional platforms for various bioanalytical, bioimaging, and therapeutic applications. In this review, we focus on the different theranostic formulations of nanomaterials based on gold, silver, silica, semiconductor quantum dots, upconversion lanthanides, oxide magnets, polymers, liposomes, carbon nanotubes, graphene and carbon nanohorns, and their applications in photothermal and photodynamic therapy of cancer. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.