Research teams from Rice University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas have discovered that the atoms in dye molecules, often used for medical imaging, can vibrate in unison when stimulated, forming a plasmon1. When near-infrared light2 stimulates the dye atoms, the membranes of the cancer cells rupture.
Houston’s Rice University’s study published in Nature Chemistry stated that this method had 99 percent efficiency against lab cultures of human melanoma cells, and half of the mice with melanoma tumors became cancer-free after treatment. This treatment works because it excites the whole molecule and produces mechanical action to tear apart cancer cells’ membranes. This treatment is called Molecular Jackhammers, and they are quite different from the nanoscale motors based on Nobel laureate Bernard Feringa’s molecular motors.
Based on Feringa’s molecular motors, the nanoscale drill is a system where these motors are integrated into a structure resembling a drill bit at the nanoscale. The external stimulus of visible light activates the molecular motor, causing the drill to rotate and perform a drilling-like action at the molecular or nanoscale level. On the other hand, molecular jackhammers are more than one million times faster in their mechanical motion than the former Feringa-type motors, and they can be activated with near-infrared rather than visible light.
The advantage of using near-infrared light is that light can penetrate far deeper into the body than visible light, having access to organs and bones without damaging tissue. Near-infrared light can go as deep as 10 centimeters into the human body, whereas visible light can only penetrate half a centimeter. This discovery could potentially allow for cancer in bones and organs to be treated without surgery due to near-infrared lights.
This is truly a breakthrough discovery, and further research will significantly impact the healthcare industry. Scientists are now working on finding other molecules that can be used similarly to treat cancers at the molecular state.
For more details about this discovery, please visit the official article published by Rice University.
- Plasmon: collective oscillation of electrons in a material. Just as light consists of photons, plasma oscillations consist of plasmons. For more information, press here ↩︎
- Near-Infrared Light (NIR): The section of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) wavelengths near the normal range but just past what we see. For more information, press here ↩︎
