Home > Press > Non-toxic nanoparticles may someday be used to fight cancer
Dr. Phuoc Tran’s laser ablation process is used to produce nanoparticles of gold that can be used in treating cancer and as targeted drug delivery vehicles. |
Abstract:
Dr. Phuoc X. Tran's research at DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has involved laser ignition, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer, all focused on fossil fuel combustion, until relatively recently, when his interest in laser nanoparticle ablation led him into conducting research on fighting cancer. Dr. Tran has developed a method of producing novel, non-toxic gold nanoparticles for cancer treatment to replace the potentially toxic nanoparticles typically produced by current chemical methods. The process involves only water, two lasers, and gold, and uses no toxic chemicals.
When green and infrared lasers strike the surface of a thin gold foil, gold nanoparticles are gouged from the surface in a process called laser ablation. The nanoparticles bunch together in water due to the surface forces, just as nanoparticles produced by standard chemical methods do. The individual nanoparticles must be "unbunched" to be injected into the human body. Standard practice has been to use a toxic surfactant to separate the particles, but Dr. Tran's method uses corn starch, potato starch, or chitosan, a natural product from shellfish.
Dr. Tran is also investigating how natural products could possibly help him control the size and shape of the nanoparticles. The gold particles initially produced by laser ablation are usually spherical, but tiny cylindrical shaped particles, called nanorods, would be preferable. Typically, during clinical treatment, gold nanoparticles are injected into a tumor and then irradiated with infrared light, which can penetrate layers of the patient's skin. The light heats up the gold and causes it to destroy nearby cancerous cells, but only if the nanoparticles are of the right size and shape to absorb the light. Gold nanorods with precisely the right length and diameter interact with infrared light, causing surface electrons to vibrate and heat up to destroy the cancer cells. Research continues to control laser parameters, the concentration of the natural substances, and the temperature and the mixing duration to control the shape and size of the gold nanoparticles.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tran's collaborator at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Ann Robertson, is trying to attach pharmaceutically active cells to the gold nanoparticles so that they can be used to deliver different drugs where they are needed most. If the gold nanoparticles were toxic, they might destroy any attached cells, interfere with the attached drugs, or cause new problems in the patient because of the presence of even trace amounts of the toxic compounds. Dr. Tran's non-toxic nanoparticles will avoid these problems—a major advance in this field.
####
About National Energy Technology Laboratory
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), part of DOE’s national laboratory system, is owned and operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). NETL supports DOE’s mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.
NETL implements a broad spectrum of energy and environmental research and development (R&D) programs that will return benefits for generations to come:
Enabling domestic coal, natural gas, and oil to economically power our Nation’s homes, industries, businesses, and transportation …
While protecting our environment and enhancing our energy independence.
NETL has expertise in coal, natural gas, and oil technologies, contract and project management, analysis of energy systems, and international energy issues.
In addition to research conducted onsite, NETL’s project portfolio includes R&D conducted through partnerships, cooperative research and development agreements, financial assistance, and contractual arrangements with universities and the private sector. Together, these efforts focus a wealth of scientific and engineering talent on creating commercially viable solutions to national energy and environmental problems.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
626 Cochrans Mill Road
P.O. Box 10940
Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940
FAX 412-386-4604
412-386-4646
Copyright © National Energy Technology Laboratory
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
Related News Press |
News and information
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Laboratories
A battery’s hopping ions remember where they’ve been: Seen in atomic detail, the seemingly smooth flow of ions through a battery’s electrolyte is surprisingly complicated February 16th, 2024
NRL discovers two-dimensional waveguides February 16th, 2024
Three-pronged approach discerns qualities of quantum spin liquids November 17th, 2023
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024
Optically trapped quantum droplets of light can bind together to form macroscopic complexes March 8th, 2024
Nanomedicine
High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Discoveries
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024
High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Announcements
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Photonics/Optics/Lasers
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Optically trapped quantum droplets of light can bind together to form macroscopic complexes March 8th, 2024
HKUST researchers develop new integration technique for efficient coupling of III-V and silicon February 16th, 2024
A battery’s hopping ions remember where they’ve been: Seen in atomic detail, the seemingly smooth flow of ions through a battery’s electrolyte is surprisingly complicated February 16th, 2024
Research partnerships
Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024
'Sudden death' of quantum fluctuations defies current theories of superconductivity: Study challenges the conventional wisdom of superconducting quantum transitions January 12th, 2024
Development of zinc oxide nanopagoda array photoelectrode: photoelectrochemical water-splitting hydrogen production January 12th, 2024
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
Premium Products | ||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||