It has been reported that the method called “molecular jackhammers” (MHJ) by researchers from Rice University in Texas can be used to eliminate tumors.
In the MHJ method, a cyanine dye similar to that used in medical imaging procedures is injected into the body. Once this dye binds to a cancer cell, it is activated by an infrared light that can penetrate deep into the body without harming it.
These signals cause vibration in the cancerous cell and destroy the cancer by causing the cell membrane to rupture.
Ciceron Ayala Orozco, the lead author of the study, said that the technology has only been tested on mice for now and that it works in principle. The academic stated that experiments on humans could only be carried out years later.
Orozco also stated that MHJ technology will cause much fewer side effects compared to chemotherapy used in cancer treatment.
James Tour from Rice University reported that in their experiments on mice with melanoma, an aggressive skin cancer, cancer cells were completely destroyed in half of the animals.
The researcher said that they are continuing their studies so that this technology can also be used to detect cancerous cell residues in the body.
