New technique for killing cancer cells by getting them to vibrate in unison using light invented.
"The atoms of a small dye molecule used for medical imaging can vibrate in unison -- forming what is known as a plasmon -- when stimulated by near-infrared light, causing the cell membrane of cancerous cells to rupture. According to the study published in Nature Chemistry, the method had a 99 percent efficiency against lab cultures of human melanoma cells, and half of the mice with melanoma tumors became cancer-free after treatment."
"Near-infrared light can penetrate far deeper into the body than visible light, accessing organs or bones without damaging tissue." "Near-infrared light can go as deep as 10 centimeters (~ 4 inches) into the human body as opposed to only half a centimeter (~ 0.2 inches), the depth of penetration for visible light."
"The molecular jackhammers are aminocyanine molecules, a class of fluorescent synthetic dyes used for medical imaging."
"These molecules are simple dyes that people have been using for a long time. They're biocompatible, stable in water and very good at attaching themselves to the fatty outer lining of cells. But even though they were being used for imaging, people did not know how to activate these as plasmons."
"Due to their structure and chemical properties, the nuclei of these molecules can oscillate in sync when exposed to the right stimulus. I saw a need to use the properties of plasmons as a form of treatment and was interested in James Tour's mechanical approach to dealing with cancer cells. I basically connected the dots."
"The molecular plasmons we identified have a near-symmetrical structure with an arm on one side. The arm doesn't contribute to the plasmonic motion, but it helps anchor the molecule to the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane."
The paper is paywalled so I'm just going by what's in the press release.
Molecular jackhammers' 'good vibrations' eradicate cancer cells.
