Nanoshell-mediated near-infrared thermal therapy of tumors under magnetic resonance guidance

Many new surgical techniques have been developed to 'take out' tumors that are in well defined, accessible regions of the body. However, surgery leaves much trama to the muscles, tissues and cells surrounding the tumor. It is because of the risk of injuring healthy tissues, tumors that develop within the proximity of a vital organ or tissue cannot be surgically removed without serious consequences. With the help of biomedical engineers and physicians, a team of scientists were able of find a more effective method for removing tumors close to vital organs or tissues. The newly developed minimally invasive thermal ablation treatment uses heat to target and destroy(denature) specific cells/tissue with as little damage to surrounding cells/tissues. In this article the team used silica-gold nano particles(fabrication method shown in the article) with a strong absorption to nearly infrared light(NIR; powered externally by a low-power diode laser). The nanoshells were coated with immunoinert materials as well as combined them with biomolecules for targeted therapy. According to the Mie Scattering Theory the gold surface of the nanoshells is shown to be more likely to absorb light and convert it into thermal energy. The thermal energy(heat) is concentrated only on the targeted tissue, which heats it 37.4 degrees more than its normal functioning temperature leaving surrounding healthy tissues with little or no damage. When nanoshells and NIR are combined with real-time magnetic resonance temperature imaging(MRTI), they created a minimally invasive thermal treatment method for many types of cancers.

http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=263851

I found this article very interesting because ever since SNBAL #1 I've wondered if such techniques for nanoshells were being used or duplicated to further extend their use. It was also nice to see that this technique was used in vitro and in vivo(mice). The results and the effectiveness of the treatment is amazing as far at the percentage of tumors destroyed with minimal harm to healthy tissue.
(Article published and experiments are done by Rice Bioengineers and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center)