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Monday, 24th December 2007 (5451 views)

Gold nanoparticles embedded with dyes are to be used in research to identify tumours under the skin of living animals, it has emerged.

This technology could potentially be used by doctors for the less invasive and earlier detection and diagnosis of cancer, Nanotechnology Now reports.

Researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology report that when these gold particles studded with ScFv peptides that bind to cancer cells are illuminated with a laser beam, they send back a dye-specific signal.

Shuming Nie, a professor in the Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, said: "This is a new class of nanotechnology agents for tumour targeting and imaging."

Dr Nie added that the enhancement provided by the gold particles offer a bright signal revealing distinct peaks in the dye signal.

In October 2005, the National Cancer Institute reported research showing that targeted gold nanoparticles combined with laser ablation have the potential to kill oral cancer cells.

 

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