http://www.nanobe.org Nano Biomed Eng 2016; 8(1): 24-38. doi: 10.5101/nbe.v8i1.p24-38. Research Article 24 Nano Biomed Eng 2016,Vol. 8, Issue 1 Quantum Dot Conjugated Magnetic Nanoparticles for Targeted Drug Delivery and Imaging Abstract Nanotechnology is being increasingly applied for developing drug delivery options for specific treatments. Magnetic nanoparticles have drawn attention as drug delivery vehicles due to their stability, biocompatibility and ability to be non-invasively guided to desired target areas using magnetic fields. In this paper, we describe a new delivery vehicle for magnetic drug targeting. In magnetic drug targeting, drug functionalized magnetic nanoparticles are guided and localized at specific sites using external magnetic fields. Magnetic nanoparticles act as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging. However, it cannot be visualized via this technique during drug delivery. This is between magnetic felds used for imaging and delivery can interference with each other. Our laboratory has synthesized a magnetic drug targeting vehicle conjugated with quantum dots that can be imaged during the drug delivery process with in vivo imaging techniques such as fluorescence molecular tomography. These nanocomposites can be used as drug delivery vehicles for the central nervous system, where drug targeting is especially diffcult and minimizing side effects is critical. Keywords: Fluorescent nanoparticles; Magnetic nanoparticles; Magnetic drug targeting; Drug delivery Indu Venugopal 1 , Sebastian Pernal 1 , Taylor Fusinatto 1,2 , David Ashkenaz 1,3 , Andreas Linninger 1 1 University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Bioengineering, Laboratory for Product and Process Design 2 NSF-RET fellow from Bessie Rhodes Magnet School, Science Department 3 NSF-RET fellow from Innovations High School, Science Department Corresponding author: E-mail: linninge@uic.edu Received: Dec. 12, 2015; Accepted: Feb. 18, 2016; Published: Mar. 12, 2016. Citation: Indu Venugopal, Sebastian Pernal, Taylor Fusinatto, David Ashkenaz and Andreas Linninger. Quantum Dot Conjugated Magnetic Nanoparticles for Targeted Drug Delivery and Imaging. Nano Biomed. Eng. 2016 8(1), 24-38. DOI: 10.5101/nbe.v8i1.p24-38. Introduction Along with the discovery and development of therapeutics molecules, one of the main challenges for disease treatment is the difficulty to deliver them to target sites within the body. Drug delivery to specifc organs or tissues, especially to the Central Nervous System (CNS), poses significant challenges such as achieving high effcacy while evading side effects [1, 2]. Currently, the lack of specifcity towards the target site generates the need for using high drug dosages to attain required therapeutic effect. However, this elevates the risk of toxicity in non-targeted regions, leading to unwanted side effects. For example, high doses of chemotherapeutic drugs are known to cause unacceptable systemic toxicity [3-6]. A signifcant advancement has been the development of nanoparticles (NPs) for delivering drugs. Variation in their biochemistry and material properties can create innovative therapeutic options for site-specific drug delivery, which takes advantage of interactions between target molecules with cellular and sub- cellular structures [7-12]. Targeted delivery reduces