Friday, 6th January 2006 (4115 views)

Gold nanoparticles are to be used in new research into the treatment of cancer, according to reports from genengnews.com.

From this year tunable lasers will be available for commercial use, particularly in the realm of diagnostic and therapeutic processes.

This has allowed the Comprehensive Cancer Centre in the University of California to conduct research on gold nanoparticles using tunable lasers in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.

The report states that: "Efficient conversion of strongly absorbed light by plasmonic gold nanoparticles to heat energy and their easy bioconjugation suggest their use as selective photothermal agents in molecular cancer cell targeting."

As a result it is hoped the research will allow for the effective development of technology to specifically target and combat cancerous areas of the body.

It was recently announced that cancer detection could be made much easier by binding gold nanoparticles to specific antibodies.

Cancerous shells bound with gold nanoparticles would shine when viewed under microscopes, allowing for their detection.

 

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