Gold can become a weapon to kill cancer cells

Gold nanoparticles can be used to release drugs inside tumors, increasing the effectiveness of cancer drugs.

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh, UK and colleagues at the University of Zaragoza, Spain, successfully used gold nanoparticles wrapped in a chemical device to increase the effectiveness of cancer drugs. The results of the study are published in Angewandte Chemie in July 2017, Independent.

Gold nanoparticles increase the effectiveness of cancer drugs.(Photo: Fierce Biotech).

The team demonstrated that the device worked quite well after transplanting it into the brain of a zebrafish. Although the device has not been tested in humans, researchers expect this way to help reduce the side effects of current chemotherapy treatments, by targeting the infected cells without doing so. damage healthy tissue.

Gold is a safe element that can speed up chemical reactions. Scientists discovered the special properties of gold, allowing catalytic reactions in the organism without causing side effects.

"We discovered new properties of gold that were previously unknown. This metal helps to release drugs inside the tumor in a fairly safe way," said Asier Unciti-Broceta, Ph.D. at CRUK Edinburgh Center study Edinburgh, say.

Aine McCarthy, senior scientific information officer at the British Cancer Research Center, said the new method could improve the treatment of brain tumors and some other dangerous cancers, and at the same time. reduce side effects of drugs.

In the next step of the study, scientists will consider whether this method is safe for human use as well as its short-term and long-term side effects.