Scientists have destroyed 99% of cancer cells using vibrating molecules

Scientists have discovered a surprising way to kill cancer cells. The study, published first last year in Nature Chemistry and continued in this year, showed that stimulating aminocyanine molecules with near-infrared light leads to their synchronized oscillations, sufficient to destroy the membranes of cancer cells.

Aminocyanine molecules are already used in bioimaging systems as synthetic dyes. They are typically used in low doses for cancer detection, remain stable in water and attach well to the outer surfaces of cells.

How does the vibrational mechanism work?

The research team from Rice University, Texas A&M University and Texas State University said their approach is a marked improvement over another type of previously developed molecular cancer-killing device called “Fehring”-type mechanisms that could also destroy the structures of problem cells.

“These are a completely new generation of molecular mechanisms that we call molecular jackhammers,” chemist James Tour of Rice University said when the findings were published.

They are more than a million times faster in their mechanical motion than previous mechanisms, and they can be activated by near-infrared light rather than visible light.

The use of near-infrared light is important because it allows scientists to penetrate deeper into the body. It could potentially be possible to treat cancer in bones and organs without the surgery needed to get to the cancerous tumor.

In tests on lab-grown cancer cells, the molecular jackhammer method showed a 99 percent cell-killing result. The approach was also tested on mice with melanoma, and in half of the animals the cancer disappeared completely.

The structure and chemical properties of aminocyanine molecules allow them to synchronize under the influence of the right stimulus – for example, near-infrared light. When in motion, the electrons inside the molecules form so-called plasmons – collective vibrations that set the entire molecule in motion.

“It should be emphasized that we have discovered another explanation for how these molecules can work,” says chemist Ciceron Ayala-Orozco of Rice University.

This is the first time a molecular plasmon has been used in a way that excites the entire molecule and produces a mechanical action to achieve a specific goal – in this case, rupturing the membrane of cancer cells.”

On the one hand, plasmons have a arm that helps to connect molecules to the membranes of cancer cells, while vibrational motions tear them apart. The research is still ongoing and the initial and follow-up results are very promising.

It’s also such a simple biomechanical method that cancer cells will have a hard time coming up with any kind of blockade against. Next, the researchers are going to explore other types of molecules that can be used in a similar way.

This research is about finding another way to treat cancer using mechanical forces at the molecular level.

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Published: 30.12.2024

Updated: 29.12.2024

Medical author, Medical editor:

Stepan Yuk

Medical expert:

PhD. Olexandr Voznyak