Cancer Expert Silicon Nanoparticles: Dissolve without leaving marks, no side effects

"50/50" stills

As the new darling of the American Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory, silicon nanoparticles have been developed as a growing battery. It is only necessary to fill single-silicon nanoparticles that can store electrical energy in the carbon shell of a traditional battery. When the battery is charged, the single-silicon nanoparticles automatically expand, and the stored energy is 10 times that of an ordinary battery.

In the past, gold nanoparticles were often associated with cancer and nanotechnology. However, the recent researches by the National University of Moscow Lomonosov, photonics technology, and Leibniz in Germany have publicized their latest findings and demonstrated that silicon nanometers Granules can also be used for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

The researchers said that this experiment demonstrated for the first time that the silicon nanoparticles had penetrated into the diseased cells and that they were able to completely dissolve after the treatment drug was carried.

Liubov Osminkina/eurekalert

This study is an experiment of "therapeutic diagnostics," a combination of diagnostic tools and therapeutic tools. Although metal nanoparticles can rapidly target drug delivery, they can also cause certain side effects, such as kidney and liver function damage.

"Because gold, silver, titanium dioxide, cadmium selenide, and many other metal particles are almost impossible to excrete," explains Liubov Osminkina, a senior researcher at the National Moscow Lomonosov University, "When nanoparticles reach the blood, Staying for a certain period of time will cause long-term damage to the body based on its own toxicity."

When looking for nanoparticles that are more compatible with the human body, researchers found that silicon is a very good material. Silicic acid dissolved in silicon is beneficial to the health of bone and connective tissue.

In order to prove that silicon nanoparticles can be dissolved in the body, Osminkina uses two types of nanoparticles, one is luminescence and the other is not luminescence. The team used Raman spectroscopy to irradiate the material with a single light source and measure the interaction between the light and the material to derive changes in the material.

"This technology can not only locate the nanoparticles, but also keep track of their dissolution process." When the nanoparticles dissolve, their spectrum will become more light, and the frequency will become lower.

According to experiments, it takes only 5-9 hours for silicon nanoparticles to trace breast cancer cells and penetrate into cells the next day. When the carrier drug was delivered to the cells, the granules completely dissolved after 13 days. Osminkina speculates that porous silicon nanoparticles may be a harmless treatment for cancer.

Via ieee