--- title: "Doctors Say They Can Kill Tumors by Growing Gold Inside Them" description: "A team of researchers have found a way to biosynthesize tiny gold nanoparticles directly within cancer cells to aid in x-ray imaging — and to destroy them." date: "2020-09-14" modified: "2020-09-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/doctors-kill-tumors-growing-gold-inside" categories: - "Cancer" - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" tags: - "cancer" - "gold" - "gold nanoparticles" --- # Doctors Say They Can Kill Tumors by Growing Gold Inside Them ![A team of researchers have found a way to biosynthesize tiny gold nanoparticles directly within cancer cells to aid in x-ray imaging — and to destroy them.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* A team of researchers have figured out a way to [biosynthesize tiny gold nanoparticles]() inside cancer cells — to aid in x-ray imaging and even to destroy them. It wouldn't be the first time scientist have used gold nanoparticles to fight cancerous growths. But until now, the techniques were limited by the way they were introduced into the cancer. Some methods coaxed the particles latch onto peptides or even white blood cells, as [*New Atlas* reports](). This new technique, however, allows for the biosynthesis of the gold nanoparticles directly inside the cancerous cells, a "highly promising approach for drug delivery application," according to Dipanjan Pan, professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and co-author of [a paper]() about the technique published in the journal *Nature Communications* last week. The team dissolved the gold nanoparticles in a "polyethylene glycol" solution to create ionic gold — essentially gold salts within a liquid. Once injected into cancer cells, gold nanoparticles started to generate within cancer cells during a lab experiment, a process that took just minutes. "We have developed a unique system where gold nanoparticles are reduced by cellular biomolecules and those are able to retain their functionality, including the capacity to guide the remaining cluster to the nucleus," explained in [a statement](). They then demonstrated the same approach inside a mouse tumor before destroying it by heating up the nanoparticles with a laser, a process known as "photothermal remediation." Pan said that "the most challenging research ahead of us will be to find new methods of producing these particles with uncompromised reproducibility," and assessing how the nanoparticles will affect human health in the long term. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()