Self-Assembling Gold Nanoparticles Use Light to Kill Tumor Cells
When irradiated with light, gold nanoparticles become hot quickly, hot enough to generate explosive microbubbles that will kill nearby cancer cells, a physical process known as the photothermal effect. To boost this approach, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have developed a method for creating supramolecular assemblies of gold nanoparticles that function as highly efficient photothermal agents of a size designed to optimize their delivery to tumors. Hsien-Rong Tseng, a member of the Nanosystems Biology Cancer Center, and his colleagues reported their work in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer – Nanotech News
