Monday, 12th February 2007 (3387 views)

Major interest in the application of gold to science has gathered pace of late with the inception of the precious metal being used for therapeutic results.

Gold has the unique chemical property of being suitable for use in its unoxidised state in nanoparticle applications while most other metals are susceptible to oxidation which obliterates their nanoscales properties.

One of the most recent uses of gold in medical nanotechnology includes the killing of cancers with so-called gold nanobullets while gold nanotechnology is now being infused with the power of plants like gum Arabic to stabilise them.

Dr Kattesh Katti, from the University of Missouri Cancer Nanotechnology Platform, said: "We succeeded in developing a new class of hybrid gold nanoparticles that are stable and can be administered either orally or through intravenous injection within the biological system."

The gold particles within this sort of concoction remain intact for several months which means that the resulting medical applications can be shipped or stored around the world until they are needed.

Dr Katti said that more research is going ahead into plants' ability to absorb precious metals such as gold for use in medicine.

 

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