A groundbreaking new method has allowed scientists to destroy 99% of cancer cells
The promising new study from experts at Texas’ Rice University has given hope on the future of cancer treatments.
The scientists found that a special type of molecule called aminocyanine molecules can eat through the membrane of cancer cells.
Aminocyanine molecules have other uses, and are commonly found in medical imaging and synthetic dyes, but the new research has discovered what might be their best use yet.
Atoms within the molecules vibrate to cause a “plasmon” when near-infrared light is beamed at them. This then leads to the rupturing of cancer cells’ membranes.
Researchers dubbed this method “molecular jackhammers,” and they found it to be incredibly effective at treating cancer cells.
The study found that using “molecular jackhammers” was 99 percent effective at fighting human melanoma cells in the lab, and half of mice with melanoma tumours were cancer-free after receiving treatment.
“These molecules are simple dyes that people have been using for a long time,” lead author on the study Ciceron Ayala-Orozco said, via indy100.
“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.
“This study is about a different way to treat cancer using mechanical forces at the molecular scale.”
The research, which was published in Nature Chemistry journal in December 2023, is also significant as it gives hope for more non-invasive cancer treatments.
The use of near-infrared light is a sign that in the future cancer in bones and organs may be treated without the need for surgery.
