New Self-regulating Nanoparticles Heat up To Kill Cancer Cells, Then Cool Before Harming Healthy Tissue

30 October 2017

 - Scientists from the University of Surrey in Guildford, England have given rise to “intelligent” nanoparticles which heat up to a temperature that is high enough to eradicate carcinogenic cells but which then control themselves and lose heat before they get hot enough to harm healthy tissue.

This breakthrough is seen as a way to treat patients with cancer via hyperthermic-thermotherapy, researchers said in an article that was published in the journal Nanoscale.

Thermotherapy has been known a long time in the medical world as a treatment for cancer, but there is the danger that using this method can also damage otherwise healthy cells. Cancerous cells, however, can be killed without affecting normal tissue if temperatures can be regulated within a range of 42 to 45 degrees Celsius (107.6 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit).