GLOWING, PULSATING, DEATH-DEALING NANOPARTICLES

More of Linda and Ella

 

A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, or one millionth of a millimeter.  (You remember millimeters – there was some TV commercial that described the millimeter as, “Well, like SMALL!).  Well, cancer folks are using things called nanoparticles in various ways to combat certain kinds of malignancies.  I have written about nanoparticles previously:  specifically 10/30/14 (Google will rule the world: Inside and out) and 4/2/12 (Good things come in tiny packages).  Now research worker at Oregon State have come up with a new use for nanoparticles.    You can read their press release by clicking on

http://phys.org/news/2015-01-nanotechnology-cancer-surgery-malignant-cells.html

In a nutshell:  The somehow manage to load up nanoparticles with a drug called naphthalocyanine.  This stuff has the property of glowing when irradiated with light of a certain wavelength, called near infrared.  At the same time it somehow produces something called “activated oxygen” (oxygen ions?) that are hell on wheels where cells are concerned; it kills them.  Somehow these loaded nanoparticles can be festooned with proteins that bind to cancer cells and not to healthy cells.  Then the nanoparticle penetrates the cancer cell and causes it to light up when radiated, thus acting as a beacon for the surgeon’s knife.  And, (we fervently hope) the active oxygen can be counted on to kill any tumor cells left over.   

The method has worked on ovarian cancer cells in vitro and also on mice.  Next they are going to try it on dogs.  (Yes, I know – that’s terrible.  Terrible, but necessary.)

You know, when I write these things I often am bothered by thoughts along these lines:” Why in hell didn’t they have these treatments when they could have helped Linda”?  Not particularly noble of me, I know – but you will understand.

P.S.  I just went to the living room to watch the Packer’s game on TV.  I have been looking forward to it all morning.  It turns out it’s tomorrow.