Well, researchers have found that these particles can be made using inorganic or organic components whereby each may be assigned with different properties:

-First, Inorganic nano-particles often have unique properties that make them useful in applications such as fluorescence probes and magnetic resonance imaging tumor diagnoses.

-Second, “Soft” organic nano-particles are the best drug-delivery carriers for tumor treatment, due to their bio-compatibility, ability to be chemically modified and their drug-loading capacity.

Example of “soft” organic nano-medicines that have been approved or are in clinical trials for the treatment of human cancers are: Genexol-PM (paclitaxel-loaded polymeric micelles), Doxil (liposomal doxorubicin) and Abraxane (paclitaxel-loaded human serum albumin nanoaggregate)

Armed and dangerous (to tumors)

These functional nano-particles can be similar to those of an armed nano-robot.

For example, when a tumor-recognition module is installed in a delivery nano-robot (organic particle), the armed drug-loaded nano-robot particles can target and deliver the drug into tumor tissue. They kill only those cells, while being harmless to surrounding healthy cells and tissues.

If a tumor-recognition module is installed in a probe nano-robot (inorganic particle), the armed nano-robot particles can get into tumor tissue and activate a measurable signal to help doctors better diagnose tumors.