“This paper is a part of the key to understanding why magnetic nanoparticles will surely take part in the struggle against cancer during the next few years.”

There are at least two factors. The first one is the growing interest in the research area of nanomaterials which involves communities of physicians, physicists, biologists, and chemists. Therefore, the expected spectrum of readership is very extensive. The second factor is the "feature article" format of the paper which includes an updating of current knowledge, a comparison of strategies, and discussion regarding the next challenges.

It is a review of recent results and breakthroughs of worldwide research groups. We have tried to give an overview of current problems and of the possibilities for resolving them. Because of our chemistry backgrounds and the scope of the Journal of Materials Chemistry, we have focused primarily on the design and synthesis of these magnetic carriers. Physiological and physical backgrounds have been described for the definition of the carrier requirements, e.g., relaxivity for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), specific absorption rate for hyperthermia, factors affecting nanoparticle in vivo biodistribution, active targeting of tumor cells, etc.

This paper is a part of the key to understanding why magnetic nanoparticles will surely take part in the struggle against cancer during the next few years.

For nearly 10 years, the Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry of Bordeaux (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Science and Technology, University of Bordeaux) has been involved in the magnetic nanoparticles field for biomedical applications. Of course there were failures, but we were given the opportunity to try to overcome the problems we encountered and these failures were turned into successes. As one example, we have received a patent for a new hybrid platform called VUSPIO (Versatile Ultrasmall Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide), which is undergoing biomedical tests and has already proven to be an efficient targeting MRI contrast agent.

In the near future, magnetic nanoparticles could become a common tool for both cancer diagnostics and therapies. We are convinced that the next true challenges in Materials Science are targeted towards human health concerns and the protection of the environment.