A team of researchers, headed by a group from University at Buffalo, has developed a new nanoparticle that can be used to cook tumors to death. The zinc ferrite nanoparticles can be activated by a low strength magnetic field, making the technology clinically applicable.
The nanoparticles will hopefully be paired with antibodies, or other targeting mechanisms, and a quickly alternating magnetic field, delivered by an electromagnet near the patient’s body, would make the nanoparticles heat up. The heating is localized, and so should have little negative effect on tissues away from the target.
“The treatment will only heat up the region where nanoparticles are without affecting healthy tissues that are further away, so we anticipate few side effects,” Said Hao Zeng, the leader of the study. “In addition, the magnetic field that’s used to excite the particles can penetrate deep into the body from an instrument that does not require any contact or insertion of probes. As such, the therapy can reach parts of the body that are not easily accessible to surgery.”
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