Researchers have developed a novel type of treatment involving what they call ‘metallic nano-bones’ which offers a way to activate chemotherapy drugs precisely at the tumour site, sparing the rest of the body from the drugs' toxic effects. The study, led by a team at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, expands the scope of bioorthogonal catalysis which aims to reduce the side effects of anticancer drugs in healthy tissues and organs.The researchers designed novel metallic nano-bones made of gold and palladium, which are activated by near-infrared light – a type of light that penetrates deep into tissues without damaging them – and generate heat to directly kill cancer cells while at the same time converting inactive drug precursors into chemotherapy only at the site where the light is shed. This technique marks a significant advancement in the field of cancer therapy. Previously, one of the major challenges with targeted drug therapies using metal catalysts was the lack of precise control over where and when the drugs were activated. These nano-bones enabled researchers to control drug activation with unprecedented precision, effectively turning the chemotherapy 'on' only when it reached the tumour site and ‘off’ elsewhere in the body, both in tissue culture and zebrafish cancer models. To our delight, our bimetallic nano-bones enable the laser-mediated release of anticancer agents directly inside cancer cells. Combined with the induction of heat, our strategy can lead to potent local cancer cell death in a light-controlled manner, opening new avenues for on-demand phototherapeutic interventions of cancer. Professor Asier Unciti-Broceta Personal Chair of Medicinal Chemistry, Edinburgh Cancer Research Asier Unciti-Broceta Research Group Read the paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society Tags 2025 Publication date 27 Jun, 2025
