Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide.
Scientists and researchers in the medical field have invested significant effort into developing treatments for cancer, a deadly disease that kills millions of people each year. A joint research team of experts from Rice University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas has made a groundbreaking discovery. They identified a way to eliminate cancer cells by exploiting the unique properties of certain molecules, which exhibit strong vibrations when stimulated by light.
as per releaseResearchers have discovered that when the atoms of small dye molecules used in medical imaging are stimulated with near-infrared light, they vibrate in unison, forming a phenomenon known as plasmons, which can disrupt the cell membranes of cancer cells. I discovered that there is. The method was 99 percent efficient for laboratory cultures of human melanoma cells, and half of the mice with melanoma tumors were cancer-free after treatment, according to a study published in Nature Chemistry.
“This is a whole new generation of molecular machines that we call molecular jackhammers,” said Rice chemist James Tour. His lab has previously used nanoscale compounds with light-activated paddle-like chains of atoms that continuously rotate in the same direction to drill through. The outer membrane of infectious bacteria, cancer cells, and treatment-resistant fungi.
In contrast to nanoscale drills, which were inspired by Nobel laureate Bernard Feringa’s molecular motors, molecular rock drills utilize an entirely new and unprecedented mechanism of motion.
“These motors are more than a million times faster mechanically than previous Ferringa-type motors, and can be operated in near-infrared light rather than visible light,” Tuer said.
Near-infrared light penetrates deeper into the body than visible light, accessing organs and bones without damaging tissue.
“The visible light we used to activate the nanodrill has a penetration depth of only 0.5 centimeters, but the near-infrared light can penetrate up to 10 centimeters deep in the human body,” said Tour, TT and WF Chao of Rice. . Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science and Nanoengineering. “That’s a big improvement.”
