'Theranostic' Nanoparticles (IMAGE)

Rice University

'Theranostic' Nanoparticles

Caption

Scientists at Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics added iron chelates (blue) and fluorescent dye (red) to multi-layered gold nanomatryoshkas to create particles that can be used for disease therapy and diagnostics. The 'theranostic' nanoparticles have a core of gold (left) that is covered by silica containing the diagnostic iron and dye, which is covered by an outer shell of gold. The particles are about 20 times smaller than a red blood cell, and by varying the thickness of the layers, LANP scientists can tune the nanomatryoshkas to convert light into cancer-killing heat.

Credit

Luke Henderson/Rice University

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