Tumour probes
Purdue University researcher Joseph Irudayaraj has developed probes that can help locate tumours and might eventually be able to attack cancer cells.
A researcher has developed probes that can help pinpoint the location of tumours and may one day be able to directly attack cancer cells.
Joseph Irudayaraj, a Purdue University associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, developed the nanoscale, antibody carrying probes to find and attach to cancer cells.
‘If we have a tumour, these probes should have the ability to latch on to it,’ Irudayaraj said.
‘The probe could carry drugs to target, treat as well as reveal cancer cells.’
Scientists have developed probes that use gold nanorods or magnetic particles, but Irudayaraj's nanoprobes use both, making them easier to track with different imaging devices as they move towards cancer cells.
The magnetic particles can be traced through the use of an MRI machine, while the gold nanorods are luminescent and can be traced through microscopy.
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