Nanoshells, tiny metallic spheres with silica cores, can kill cancer cells with perfect efficiency, Dr. Naomi Halas told a packed house at the Illinois Institute of Technology on Friday. In her titled talk, "When Plasmons Interact, Worlds Collide," Dr. Halas revealed the results of experiments in which gold nanoshells were injected into mice with cancerous tumors. The nanoshells collected in the tumors due to the permeability of the tumor tissue. When intense infrared light was shone on the tumors, the nanoshells converted the light to heat--enough heat to kill the cancer cells in the tumors.

Ten days later, the tumors were gone. Mice in a control group were not so fortunate--they were all dead within ten days. 60 days after the experiments, the treated mice were completely cancer-free.

"This method is completely non-invasive," said Dr. Halas. "There would be essentially no side effects." Dr. Halas' group is now filing for initial clinical human trials of the technology, and human testing could begin within 7 months. (photo Hebrew University of Jerusalem)