The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited © and do not represent the views or opinions of the World Gold Council.

Friday, 25th August 2006 (5683 views)

Scientists in Germany are using gold nanoparticles in capsules designed to target malignant cancer cells, Angewandte Chemie reports.

The treatment of cancer tumours is difficult because often the drugs used destroy healthy tissue as well as the malignant cancerous cells.

Now, researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam and Munich's Ludwig-Maximilian University have found a way to open microcapsules inside a tumour cell, which could help to avoid this problem.

They managed to create a polymer capsule, composed partly of tiny gold particles, which could penetrate cell membranes and which could contain medicine.

The metal particles could then absorb laser light, heating up the walls of the capsules. This would result in the capsules breaking apart and their cargo of medicine being released into the desired cell.

Helmuth Mohwald of the Max Planck institute said that the process could be used in the human body, although it has not been done yet. The laser light would not harm the body because it would be harmlessly dispersed in the tissue.

Scientists now need to find a way to "steer" the capsules towards the correct cells.

 

« Back to Gold News stories