Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a new approach to potentially detect and kill cancer cells, especially those that form a solid tumor mass. They have created hybrid nanoparticles made of gold and copper sulfide that can kill cancer cells using heat and enable their detection using sound waves, according to a study published in ACS Applied Nano Materials.
Early detection and treatment are key in the battle against cancer. Copper sulfide nanoparticles have previously received attention for their application in cancer diagnosis, while gold nanoparticles, which can be chemically modified to target cancer cells, have shown anticancer effects. In the current study, the IISc team decided to combine these two into hybrid nanoparticles.
“These particles have photothermal, oxidative stress, and photoacoustic properties,” says Jaya Prakash, Assistant Professor at the Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics (IAP), IISc, and one of the corresponding authors of the paper. Ph.D. students Madhavi Tripathi and Swathi Padmanabhan are co-first authors.
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