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Friday, 2nd December 2005 (5916 views)

New thermometers able to measure temperatures in spaces billionths of a meter in diameter could improve the performance of anti-cancer treatments that rely on temperature to kill cells, experts have told United Press International’s Nano World.

Each of the new nanothermometers, which measure roughly 30 nanometers in width, are made of a gold particle core 20 nanometers thick.

The gold core is surrounded by a supple polymer layer and an envelope of semiconductor particles.

The polymer layer contracts with cold and slackens in heat, which brings the nonoparticles either closer together or farther apart.

The semiconductor nanoparticles in the thermometer become excited when scanned with lasers, which causes the electrons around the gold particles to vibrate at the same time.

These vibrations increase the amount of light the semiconductor nanoparticles produce, and the closer the gold and semiconductor nanoparticles are, the more light they emit.

Scientists can then measure the amount of light given off to detect any temperature changes.

Nicholas Kotov, a chemical engineer at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, who helped to innovate the nanothermometers, told UPI: "Nanothermometers could help doctors adjust their treatments accordingly to carve away the cancer completely or to not attack normal cells."

 

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