Nanostructured Boron and Gadolinium Compounds for Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT)

Neutron capture therapy (NCT), a radiation science for cancer treatment, has gained a tremendous amount of research in the past few decades. Even though chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy remain the mainstream treatment for several types of cancer, NCT is anticipated to have improved efficacy for cancer treatment due to its selective targeting. To date, both boron (B) and gadolinium (Gd) have been found as the effective agents for NCT, with boron being the first choice. Nevertheless, Gd also exhibits good potential to be applied for NCT. Despite substantial progress in the NCT agents, the density of carrier in the tumour cells remains a challenging task. With the evolution of nanomaterials, this task can be accomplished as these materials can carry a higher number of nuclei to the target site in comparison to other carriers. This chapter outlines recent advancements made in the field of nanocarriers containing boron and gadolinium for efficient NCT.