A new light-based cancer treatment kills cancer cells and preserves healthy cells

In combat against cancerOne important area of ​​research is the search for safe alternatives to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. These treatments attack cancer cells and healthy cells, exposing patients to serious side effects.

A team of scientists from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Porto in Portugal have brought the variant one step closer. They have developed materials capable of efficiently and safely converting near-infrared, or NIR, light into heat that can be highly targeted against cancer cells. Its material is tin oxide (SnO_S) Nanoflakes, which are small particles less than 20 nanometers thick (a nanometer is one thousandth of a millionth of a meter).

The team’s findings were published in the journal ACS Nanooffers new hope for the design of photothermal therapies, as these types of light-based treatments are called.

Photothermal therapy is a non-surgical procedure that heats cancer cells to destroy them. It works by penetrating cancer cells with materials that absorb light and convert it into heat – in this case, SnO_S Nanoflakes – which can be designed to specifically accumulate in tumor tissue. They are then targeted with light at a wavelength that gives these materials the energy they need to produce heat that kills cancer but does not damage healthy tissue.

Researchers suggest that SnO_S Nanosheets can improve these types of treatments by providing greater thermal efficiency, biocompatibility, and affordability compared to other materials used in such processes.

“Our goal was to create a treatment that was not only effective, but also safe and accessible,” Jean-Anne Incorvia, an engineering professor at the University of Texas and one of the project leaders, said in a press conference. press release. “With a combination of LED light and SnO_S Nanochips, we have developed a way to precisely target cancer cells while leaving healthy cells untouched.

To evaluate the thermal efficiency of the new material, the team developed a special system based on near-infrared LEDs (NIR-LEDs) that emit light with a wavelength of 810 nanometers, which is safe for biological tissues. Unlike traditional laser systems, NIR-LEDs provide more uniform and stable illumination, reduce the risk of overheating, and require minimal investment. The entire experimental setup, capable of irradiating up to 24 samples simultaneously, costs about $530, making it an affordable and versatile tool for biomedical research.

Results from NIR irradiation on SnO_SThe treated cancer cells were encouraging. The University of Texas reported that in less than 30 minutes of exposure to this method, this method killed up to 92% of melanoma cells and 50% of colorectal cancer cells. This was achieved without any harmful effects on healthy skin cells, demonstrating the safety and selectivity of this approach.