Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is regularly used to spot cancer tumors deep within the body, but therapy to fight them is delivered in a completely different fashion, whether it be surgery, chemo, or radiation. A special composite microparticle designed by an international team of researchers may turn MRI itself into a therapeutic modality.

The team , led by scientists from Rice University and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute (TMHRI), have developed silicon mesoporous particles (SiMPS) that have a bunch of iron oxide nanoparticles embedded within. The iron oxide is readily visible under MRI and allows the particles to be guided to move to specific spots within the body using the scanner’s magnetic field. Once the particles have been delivered to a tumor, they can be made to heat up, yet again using MRI’s magnets, killing tumors. All this is yet in a pre-clinical stage and remains to be further developed for use on human patients, but the technology is striking in its elegance and potential to revolutionize treatment of a variety of cancers.

Source:TMHRI