Scientists develop new form of cancer treatment using gold nanoparticles

A new cancer treatment that may just be worth its weight in gold. Scientists from the National University of Singapore are turning to extremely tiny gold nanoparticles to enhance the precision of treatments. Researchers found that gold nanoparticles of certain shapes, such as triangles, excel in delivering therapeutic nucleic acids. The gold nanoparticles can also deliver drugs directly to a specific location within a tumour, as well as heat up tumour cells and kill the surrounding cancer cells. CNA speaks with Assistant Professor Andy Tay, Principal Investigator at NUS i-Health-tech. He shares what sparked this idea to use gold nanoparticles in cancer treatment, how it could be used together with other conventional treatments and whether this might affect the costs of cancer treatment in the future.