The application of mesoporous silica nanoparticle family in cancer theranostics

• The properties and structures of different types of MSNs are discussed.
• Various configurations of MSN-based systems for cancer diagnosis and therapy are highlighted.
• Role of MSN-based drug delivery systems for combating the cancer multidrug resistance is outlined.
• A comprehensive timeline of the evolution of MSNs for biological applications is presented.

Cancer is among the most serious diseases characterized by uncontrollable cell growth and spread of abnormal cells. Cancerous cells form tumors that negatively impact the functions of the body, inducing serious malfunctioning leading to fatalities in most cases. Up to now, the effective diagnosis and treatments of cancer have remained a big challenge. Nanotechnology is an emerging field encompassing science, engineering and medicine, which has attracted great attention for cancer therapy in recent years. Among the numerous nanomaterials, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have attracted great attention and are being considered as promising biomedical materials for the development of cancer therapies because of their size tunability, surface functionality, optically transparent properties, low toxicity and high drug loading efficiency. In this review, we first outline the properties and structure of different configurations of MSNs and their subsequent application in the field of cancer theranostics. Thereafter, the potential of MSNs as multifunctional delivery platforms for therapeutic agents and their significance in next generation cancer therapy is discussed.