new targeted nanotechnology technique!!!

I WAS FORTUNATE TO ATTEND THE CONFERENCE AT WHICH THIS TECHNIQUE, AND MANY OTHERS BY THOSE WHO "THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX", WERE PRESENTED.

IT WORKS BY SHINING LIGHT OUTSIDE THE BODY AFTER INFUSING GOLD-COATED NANOSPHERE WHOSE COATING-THICKNESS CORRESPONDS TO-ABSORBS A CERTAIN WAVELENGTH OF LIGHT AND WHICH HAS BEEN ATTACHED TO A TARGETTED ANTIBODY EG, HERCEPTIN. IT KILLS THE CANCER CELLS CONTAINING THE TARGETTED RECEPTOR (AND ONLY THOSE CELLS) BY HEATING THEM WHEN EXTERNAL LIGHT OR OTHER WAVELENGTH ENERGY (INFRARED, ETC) ARE APPLIED TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE BODY IE NONINVASIVE.


Gold-shelled Nanoparticles Selectively Find and Kill Cells Associated with Invasive Breast Cancer

Researchers at Rice University sent particles called nanoshells on a successful search-and-destroy mission for a protein linked to aggressive breast cancer - the first use of a single bio-imaging tool for both diagnosis and therapy in this disease. The nanoshells lit up cells that had high levels of HER2 protein, and the illuminated cells acted as beacons for lethal doses of laser-directed heat.
"If we can develop a single safe technology that identifies and treats cancer, it would have the potential to reduce side effects for patients and reduce costs for the health care system," said Naomi J. Halas, Ph.D., Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of chemistry at Rice University in Houston.
Dr. Halas designed nanoshells in the 1990s. These gold-wrapped bits of silica, roughly 20 times smaller than a red blood cell, naturally accumulate inside malignant tumors. For this dual-purpose application, nanoshells were tailored for photothermal therapy, a process in which they convert near-infrared light (NIR) into heat that kills cancer cells without harming nearby healthy tissue.
The Rice team used two breast cancer cell lines: one that overexpressed HER2 and one that did not. One set of nanoshells was joined to HER2 so that it would seek out this biomarker. After incubating the cells with nanoshells, the researchers conducted the imaging portion of the study with NIR to illuminate cells showing high HER2 levels.
"At that point, all we have to do for treatment is turn up the laser power, shine the light for a few minutes, then do viability stains that show different colors for live and dead cells," Dr. Halas explained. Nanoshells can be manipulated to scatter or absorb light, and in this case, it was both. Researchers employed a scatter signal for the imaging and an absorption signal for the photothermal therapy.
The results of this experiment, demonstrating that a single particle can be designed for sequential imaging and therapy, appeared in April 2005 issue of Nano Letters, a publication of the American Chemical Society. As a next step, Dr. Halas and her colleagues plan to follow a similar procedure in a mouse model. These nanoshell functions should be applicable to most soft tissue cancers.

HOPE IS ONE OF THE BEST ANTIDOTES!

Hope this helps!

Lani