'Theranostic' Nanoparticles (IMAGE) Rice University 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 Usage Restrictions For news reporting purposes only. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.