(Nano)Theranostics effectively brings together diagnostics and therapeutics onto a single platform making them powerful tools in biomedicine. This even more so when using nanoscale structures, whose optical, (eletro)chemical and biological properties make them optimal biosensing transducers for theranostics agents. When designing a nanotheranostics, one should take into consideration:

1. the choice of most suitable nanocarrier for effective delivery for tissue delivery and cell internalization;
2. the effector molecule, from standard drugs to nucleic acids;
3. to ensure controlled release of effector molecule;
4. the signal  transducer (e.g. imaging) component that allows for the real time monitoring of the nanoconjugate location and effect on target tissue cells;
5. an active targeting agent, typically a cell-surface marker or an oligonucleotide, that maximizes specificity of the vector and minimizes damages to healthy cells.

Nanomedicine@FCT aims to highlight recent advances in the development of novel biosensing schemes and strategies that potentiate and enhance the performance of (nano)theranostics applications with a strong focus on those suitable for translation to the clinics.

Keywords: Nanomedicine; Cancer; Human Molecular Genetics; Nanoparticles; Diagnostics; Therapeutics; Gene silencing