Bao, Gang2020-07-062020-07-062020-082020-06-29August 202Yin, Yu. "Optimizing Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Cancer Theranostic Applications." (2020) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/108834">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/108834</a>.https://hdl.handle.net/1911/108834Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MIONs) have unique physical-chemical properties for a wide range of biomedical applications, including targeted drug delivery, multimodality molecular imaging, thermal therapies, and biomarker detection. In this study, I optimized MIONs for different biomedical applications. First, to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy for solid tumors, I increased endocytosis of MIONs into T cells using cell penetrating peptides to enable better in vivo imaging and targeting. Secondly, to facilitate hyperthermia therapy and anti-cancer drug delivery by heat-triggered release, I coated MIONs with mesoporous silica and demonstrated enhanced colloidal stability and heating efficiency. Thirdly, to measure the levels of trace biomarkers for early cancer detection with high sensitivity, I quantified pancreatic cancer biomarkers in patient serum samples using europium-doped iron oxide nanoparticle-linked immunosorbent assay (ILISA) and optimized the detection limit of the assay. Our work further expanded the translational potentials of MIONs.application/pdfengCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.magnetic iron oxide nanoparticlescancertheranosticsThesis2020-07-06