Method for treating cancerous tissue with a nanotherapeutic

A method of treating a cancerous tissue located in a subject in need of treatment for cancer, comprising:

• administering a therapeutically effective amount of a nanotherapeutic to the subject;
• and
• imaging a location of the nanotherapeutic relative to the cancerous tissue by
• illuminating the cancerous tissue at an electromagnetic wavelength and detecting a fluorescence signal;
• and/or
• applying an external magnetic field to the subject for magnetic resonance imaging;
• wherein the nanotherapeutic, comprises:
• an antitumor agent;
• a fluorophore;
• a magnetic resonance imaging moiety;
• and
• a hierarchical silica composite,
• wherein the hierarchical silica composite, comprises:
• a stereoregular MCM-41 ordered arrangement of uniformly-sized mesopores with diameters in a range of 10-50 nm and mesopore walls having a thickness of 3 to about 5 nm;
• and
• a stereoregular ZSM-5 ordered arrangement of uniformly-sized micropores with diameters of less than 2 nm located within the mesopore walls of the stereoregular MCM-41;
• and
• a silane coating that coats at least a portion of a surface of the hierarchical silica
• composite,
• wherein the magnetic resonance imaging moiety is incorporated into a lattice of the hierarchical silica composite by isomorphous substitution,
• wherein the antitumor agent is located inside the mesopores of the hierarchical silica composite,
• wherein an amount of the antitumor agent is in a range of 10-20 wt. %,
• wherein an amount of the hierarchical silica composite is in a range of 15-70 wt. %,
• wherein an amount of the fluorophore is in a range of 5-7.5 wt. %, and
• wherein an amount of the magnetic resonance imaging moiety is in a range of 15-25 wt. %, all of which are relative to the total weight of the nanotherapeutic.