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Monday, 9th February 2009 (1450 views)

Gold nanospheres have helped scientists at a US university make a breakthrough in the area of tumour treatment.

Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre have found that small shells made of the precious metal can stick to cancer cells and then cook and destroy them when heated, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports.

The process, which is not yet ready to be used on humans, has been led by chemist Li Chun, who said that gold nanospheres suited the research perfectly.

"This is the ideal structure for this purpose," he told the news source,

Greg Hartland of the University of Notre Dame welcomed the findings, stating that the study is "an important example of using nanotechnology for the good of society".

Similar research is also being carried out by CytImmune Sciences, which is using the precious metal to help deliver drugs into the human body, Genetic Engineering and Biology News reports.

 

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