Who knew gold beads kill cancer?

Nanoshells, which are tiny gold beads developed at Rice University by Professor Naomi Halas, have proven effective at destroying cancerous tumors in laboratory animals and are now in human clinical trials. These microscopic gold spheres — only a few nanometers or billionths of a meter thick — are injected into the bloodstream and absorbed by tumors. Once inside, nanoshells soak up near-infrared light that raises a tumor’s temperature and burns away cancerous cells.

This discovery led to the minimally invasive AuroLase™ cancer therapy in which lasers are used to selectively heat nanoshells that have collected inside tumors, killing cancer cells without harming surrounding healthy tissue.

“Most cancer therapies involve cutting into the body to remove tumors or injecting poisonous chemicals to combat the spread of the disease,” said Halas, the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical Engineering and professor of chemistry at Rice, “but both have significant negative side effects for the patient. Gold nanoshells provide an alternative which is less invasive."

Jennifer West, the Isabel C. Cameron Professor of Bioengineering and Halas’ longtime collaborator, said, “The results of the first animal tests of nanoshells confirmed that photothermal treatment of tumors is possible. We now look forward to the results of human trials.”

More information on the ongoing human trials may be found on the Nanospectra Web site at www.nanospectra.com.