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Nanoparticle seeks, identifies, and destroys cancer cells

Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have created a single nanoparticle that can be tracked in real time with MRI as it homes in on cancer cells, tags them with a fluorescent dye and kills them with heat. The all-in-one particle is one of the first examples from a growing field called "theranostics" that develops technologies physicians can use to diagnose and treat diseases in a single procedure. The particles are based on nanoshells invented in the 1990s that are currently in human clinical trials for cancer treatment. Nanoshells harvest laser light that would normally pass harmlessly through the body and convert it into tumor-killing heat. Naomi J. Halas, the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of chemistry, biomedical engineering, and physics and astronomy, is a pioneer in nanomedicine.

For more information, go to http://lanp.rice.edu/
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Highlights
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