How a light-activated metal could destroy cancer cells
An innovative new approach to cancer therapy suggests that a compound of the metal iridium could, when activated by light, target and destroy cancer cells.
An innovative new approach to cancer therapy suggests that a compound of the metal iridium could, when activated by light, target and destroy cancer cells.
At the moment, there are many different types of cancer treatment.
These range from chemotherapy and radiation therapy to immunotherapy, which boosts the body’s own defenses against cancer.
However, scientists are always on the lookout for new and more efficient ways of targeting and eliminating tumors.
Researchers from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom have recently conducted a new study. Its results suggest that using an approach called photodynamic therapy — which uses light particles to activate certain chemical compounds — could be effective against cancers.
In the study — the findings of which now appear in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition — the scientists show that a compound of the metal iridium can cause cancer cells to destruct.
