Spasers seek and destroy metastasized cancer cells

The nanolaser – dubbed spaser - can be used as an optical probe. When released into the body (possibly through an injection or drinking a solution), it can find circulating tumour cells (CTCs), adhere to them and destroy these cells by breaking them apart to prevent cancer metastases. The spaser is claimed to work by absorbing laser light, which causes it to heat up, causing shock waves in the cell and destroying the cell membrane. The findings are published in Nature Communications.

The spaser - surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation - effect is caused by a 20nm nanoparticle with folic acid attached to its surface that allows selective molecular targeting of cancer cells.

According to the research team – from Georgia State University, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science - the folate receptor is commonly overexpressed on the surface of most human cancer cells and is weakly expressed in normal cells.