Tiny magnetic discs could kill cancer cells: study
Sun Nov 29,
4:18 pm ET
PARIS (AFP) – Tiny magnetic discs just a millionth of a
metre in diameter could be used to used to kill cancer cells,
according to a study published on Sunday.
Laboratory tests found the so-called "nanodiscs",
around 60 billionths of a metre thick, could be used to disrupt the membranes
of cancer cells, causing them to self-destruct.
The discs are made from an iron-nickel
alloy, which move when subjected to a magnetic field, damaging the
cancer cells, the report published in Nature Materials said.
One of the study's authors, Elena Rozhlova of Argonne National
Laboratory in the
In a commentary on the report, Jon Dobson of
"This provides an elegant and rapid technique for
targeting tumour destruction without the side effects associated with systemic
treatments such as chemotherapy," Dobson wrote.