Scientists have discovered a new way to destroy cancer cells.
Stimulating aminocyanine molecules with near-infrared light caused them to vibrate in sync, enough to break apart the membranes of cancer cells.
Commonly used in low doses to detect cancer, they stay stable in water and are very good at attaching themselves to the outside of cells.
Cancer in bones and organs could potentially be treated without needing surgery to get to the cancer growth.
In tests on cultured, lab-grown cancer cells, the molecular jackhammer method scored a 99 percent hit rate at destroying the cells.
This is also the kind of straightforward, biomechanical technique that cancer cells would find it hard to evolve some sort of blockade against.
"This study is about a different way to treat cancer using mechanical forces at the molecular scale," says Ayala-Orozco. »
