Plasmonic nanocrosses that heat up when illuminated can be used to kill cancer
Friday, December 23, 2011 - 07:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Plasmonic nanoparticles are extremely sensitive to light, and even the tiniest amount can cause these particles to heat up. Scientists are now trying to use plasmonic nanoparticles in cancer therapy whereby light energy is converted into heat in order to kill cancer cells. The advantage of such treatment is that it does not cause side effects that are common to chemotherapy. Mingyong Han at the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering and co-workers have now developed gold plasmonic nanocrosses that are particularly suited to eliminating cancer cells in cancer therapy. The team demonstrated the usefulness of these nanocrosses by using them to kill human lung cancer cells.