Scientists at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology reported that they were able to show that they can identify tumors under the skin of a living animal using tiny gold particles embedded with dyes.
Suggesting that such tools may allow allow doctors to detect and diagnose cancer earlier but less invasively.
Studded with antibody fragments called ScFv peptides that bind cancer cells, the gold particles grab onto tumors after their injection into a mouse. When illuminated with a laser beam, the tumor-bound particles send back a signal that is specific to the dye.
According to senior author Shuming Nie, PhD, a …read more