An American research team has discovered a way to destroy cancer cells with near-infrared rays. [사진: 셔터스톡]
[디지털투데이 AI리포터] Can we take a step closer to defeating cancer? An American research team has discovered a way to destroy cancer cells with near-infrared rays.
According to online media Gigene, on the 28th (local time), a research team from Rice University, Texas A&M University and the University of Texas in the United States has discovered a method of stimulating tumor cells with near-infrared rays to make vibrate the molecules contained in the cells, thus breaking down and destroying the cell membrane.
The key to this method lies in a molecule called “aminocyanin”. Aminocyanin is a synthetic dye used in bioimaging, a technology that observes the level of living organisms or cells in real time or confirms findings through images. Aminocyanin is also stable in water, so it is mainly used to detect cancer cells.
When aminocyanin attached to the cancer cell membrane is stimulated by near-infrared rays, it vibrates and creates a collective vibration quantum called a “plasmon”, destroying the cancer cell’s cell membrane. When the research team conducted an experiment with mice suffering from melanoma (skin cancer), they were able to destroy the cells with an efficiency of 99%. At the same time, the tumor cells in about half of the mice disappeared. Professor James Tour of Rice University called the treatment using near-infrared light a “molecular jackhammer”.
In addition to the molecular jackhammer, there is a “Ferringa-type molecular motor” designed by Dr. Bernard Ferringa, winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, as a way to physically destroy cancer cells. However, it was confirmed that the molecular jackhammer can treat cancer cells 1 million times faster than the Ferringa-type molecular motor. Furthermore, the Ferringa-type molecular motor requires visible light to reach a depth of 5 mm inside the body, while the molecular jackhammer using near-infrared rays can reach a depth of 10 cm inside the body. A way has been opened to minimize damage to surrounding organs and treat tumors in bones or organs that are difficult to remove surgically.
Professor Orozco explained: “The molecular jackhammer discovered in this study is a new method for treating cancer using mechanical force on molecules.”
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