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Drug delivery strategies aim to maximize a drug's therapeutic index by increasing the concentration of drug at target sites while minimizing delivery to off‐target tissues. Because biological tissues are minimally responsive to magnetic fields, there has been a great deal of interest in using magnetic nanoparticles in combination with applied magnetic fields to selectively control the accumulation and release of drug in target tissues while minimizing the impact on surrounding tissue. In particular, spatially variant magnetic fields have been used to encourage accumulation of drug‐loaded magnetic nanoparticles at target sites, while time‐variant magnetic fields have been used to induce drug release from thermally sensitive nanocarriers. In this review, we discuss nanoparticle formulations and approaches that have been developed for magnetic targeting and/or magnetically induced drug release, as well as ongoing challenges in using magnetism for therapeutic applications. This article is categorized under: Diagnostic Tools > in vivo Nanodiagnostics and Imaging Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease

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In advanced cancer therapy, the combinational therapeutic effect of photothermal therapy (PTT) using near-infrared (NIR) light-responsive nanoparticles (NPs) and anti-cancer drug delivery-mediated chemotherapy has been widely applied. In the present study, using a facile, low-cost, and solution-based method, we developed and synthesized fucoidan, a natural polymer isolated from seaweed that has demonstrated anti-cancer effect, and coated NPs with it as an ideal candidate in chemo-photothermal therapy against cancer cells. Fucoidan-coated copper sulfide nanoparticles (F-CuS) act not only as a nanocarrier to enhance the intracellular delivery of fucoidan but also as a photothermal agent to effectively ablate different cancer cells (e.g., HeLa, A549, and K562), both in vitro and in vivo, with the induction of apoptosis under 808 nm diode laser irradiation. These results point to the potential usage of F-CuS in treating human cancer.

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