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Source: Dailytech

The cancer fighting nanomachine developed by the researchers uses mesoporous silica nanoparticles with interiors of the pores coated with azobenzene. Azobenzene is a chemical that can oscillate between two conformations with light exposure.

The researchers found that the nanoimpellers were taken up by cancer cells and that when light was applied to the area where the cancer was located the nanoimpellers released the anticancer drug payload directly into the cancer cells. Confocal microscopic images showed that the operation of the nanoimpeller can be regulated precisely depending on the intensity of the light, excitation time and specific wavelength.