Controlling RNA Expression in Cancer Using Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Detectable by MRI and In Vivo Optical Imaging.

Herein, we describe a protocol for the preparation of iron oxide nanoparticle-based contrast agents and drug delivery vehicles for noninvasive cancer imaging and therapy. In the first part of the chapter we describe the details of the contrast agent synthesis, functionalization, and characterization. In the second part we describe the methods for tumor imaging using the synthesized particles with noninvasive T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and in vivo near infrared optical imaging.