Found a way to kill 99% of cancer cells

Scientists in the US have just found a method to kill cancer cells by using near-infrared light to stimulate molecules, causing them to vibrate.

The method of using near-infrared light to vibrate molecules can kill 99% of cancer cells. (Photo: Euro News).

They found this method was 99% effective against malignant cancer cells grown in the laboratory. Their method is to vibrate the red-dyed molecule with near-infrared light.

It forms what is called pla smon , which means rapid oscillations of electrons in molecules in the same way that ocean waves move. This causes the cancer cell membrane to rupture.

These findings are published in the December 2023 issue of Nature Chemistry.

Scientist Ciceron Ayala-Orozco, working at Rice University in the US and lead author of the study, said: ' The vibrations triggered by near-infrared light cause anything surrounding the molecule to will be destroyed, in this case cancer cells'.

So far, he said, researchers have found a method called 'molecular drilling' that works in the laboratory and on mice, but there are still challenges in translating this method to apply to humans. People.

Scientist Ciceron Ayala-Orozco said that the main obstacle when applying this type of method to humans is side effects and potential toxicity.

Dr Nisharnthi Duggan, from Cancer Research UK, who was not involved in the study, said a major challenge in cancer research is designing drugs that cancer cells cannot resist. again.

"New research shows the potential for using infrared light to make certain molecules vibrate and kill cells, a process to which they are unlikely to develop resistance. This is stage research early, but this idea could lead to new ways to treat some types of cancer ,' Dr. Duggan said.