Bullet-like nanoparticles heat and destroy cancer cells from the inside

A research team in the UK have demonstrated how an adaptation of this technology can be used to tackle mesothelioma, a hard-to-treat cancer caused by asbestos exposure, with a little help from laser light.

The work was carried out by scientists from the University of Cambridge and the University of Leeds and uses nanoparticles made from gold, which has proven a popular choice of material in cancer research of this type.

The gold nanoparticles featured in this new study are tiny cylinders that measure just one thousandth of the width of a human hair. Likened to a bullet, these are formed by depositing gold onto silver nanorods at room temperature, which then builds up on the surface and causes the silver to dissolve, eventually leaving behind just a hollowed out golden tube.

The team’s gold nanotubes were added to mesothelioma cells cultured in the lab. The cells absorbed the nanotubes in a way that brought them close to their nucleus and therefore the cell's DNA. The team then applied a laser which saw the nanotubes absorb the light and start to heat up, eventually killing off the cancer cell.

“Mesothelioma is one of the ‘hard-to-treat’ cancers, and the best we can offer people with existing treatments is a few months of extra survival,” says Dr Arsalan Azad from the University of Cambridge. “There’s an important unmet need for new, effective treatments.”