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It might be possible soon; effectively eliminating tumors with heated gold particles. Scientists from the ETH (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule) in Zurich published an article on this topic in Advanced Functional Material. When the gold particles are exposed to near-infrared light their temperature rises. The researchers have developed a new method to produce gold particles with the necessary characteristics. This nanotechnology could be used to destroy specific tissues in the body, such as tumors.

The method of obtaining the gold particles with this feature is promising because of its simplicity. Although heating up particles with near-infrared light has been done before with plasmonic nano particles, this method is the first to allow the use of heated gold particles in a clinical setting. Earlier used methods were too complicated or expensive.

In the past gold particles were formed into a rod shape to allow heating up when exposed to near infrared light. Deforming particles in this way is very expensive. Gold is a well-known favorite in nanotechnology: it’s well tolerated in the body without any undesirable side effects. This new technology allows the use of particles in their regular sphere shape.

Covering the particles with a silicon dioxide coating and keeping them in an aggregate enables the gold nanoparticles to react on near infrared light without having to be deformed to a rod shape. The coating also ensures that the spheres do not deform when heated up. With this technique of using sphere shaped particles with a coating ultimately a therapy could be developed to effectively kill tumors.

Sources: ETH and Advanced Functional Material.