(Wired) – By combining LED technology and nanomaterials, researchers have created a therapy that eliminates cancer cells using localized heat without damaging healthy tissue.

In the fight against cancer, an important field of research is the search for safe alternatives to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. These treatments attack both cancer cells and healthy cells, exposing patients to serious side effects.

A team of scientists from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Porto in Portugal have just brought an alternative one step closer. They’ve developed materials capable of converting near-infrared light, or NIR, efficiently and safely into heat that can be highly targeted against cancer cells. Their materials are tin oxide (SnO_x) nanoflakes, tiny particles that have a thickness of less than 20 nanometers (a nanometer is one-thousand-millionth of a meter). (Read More)