A Nano Cancer Fix?

One of the current problems with cancer is that the only treatments available kill healthy tissue along with the tumor. But what if there was a noninvasive way to destroy the tumors without damaging the healthy cells in the process?

By using nanotechnology, scientists may soon be able to kill cancerous cells without damaging the surrounding tissue. The secret lies within a small nanoshell. The nanoshell has a glass core and is surrounded by a gold plated shell. While it may not seem so, the geometry is actually very important because it allows control of the relative size of the two parts of the nanoshell. What this allows is an ability to tune the optical properties of that nanoparticle such that one could control what wavelength of light and what color of light the nanoshell absorbs.

The nanoshells were put to the test on cancer induced rodents. A substance that allowed the nanoshells to bind to the cancer cells was coated on the shells and then the nanoshells were injected into the tumors. The nanoshells' ability to capture light and convert it to heat destroyed the tumors from the inside without damaging any of the near by tissue.

25 mice with tumors were tested and were divided into three groups: one that received no treatment; one that received saline injections and three minutes of exposure to the near-infrared light; and one that received nanoshell injections. Within 10 days the cancer was present in all the mice except the ones in the group who received the nanoshell injections. They were cancer free and even better they remained cancer free.

http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?language=english&type=24119&article_id=218392390&cat=3_all

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