Monday, 21st April 2008 (1621 views)

Scientists have successfully used gold nanoparticles to create "whole body images" in small animals, helping them to pinpoint the location of tumours and track how the particles travel through the body, it has been reported.

News site physorg.com said that according to the National Cancer Institute, a team from the Centre for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Focused on Therapy Response - also known as Stanford CCNE - successfully mapped the bodies of mice using nanoparticles, including commercially-available silica-coated nanogold known as Nanoplex biotags.

The trials were the first to use surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to create the images. SERS involves using a modified Raman microscope to track the unique signal of each nanoparticle from deep within the body.

In one experiment, two Nanoplex biotags were injected into mice and tracked through the animals. Another test successfully tracked four of the gold particles.

The findings could be helpful in advancing gold nanoparticles to identify and pinpoint the location of cancerous tumours in the body, the site says.

Stanford CCNE is based at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, on the San Francisco peninsula.

 

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