A Multi-Tasking, Cancer-Fighting Nanoparticle That's Visible to MRI
In warfare, victory often rests on two key aspects of combat: good battlefield intel and a versatile mix of weaponry to counter various threats. But when it comes to battling cancer, physicians often work with little real-time information and a collection of single-facet treatments, many of which cannot be used in tandem. Now, researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine are attempting to tip the scales back in physicians' favor, creating a single nanoparticle that can seek out cancer cells, tag them with fluorescent dye, and kill them, all while physicians look on via real-time MRI tracking. The treatment takes advantage of nanoshells, particles first created over a decade ago that can convert normally harmless laser light into tumor-slaying heat. The researchers wanted to add additional weaponry to the nanoshells, so they added a fluorescent dye that glows to near-infrared light. They found that the dye molecules worked better...