Researchers from Rice University, along with colleagues from Texas A&M University and the University of Texas, have developed a new technique that destroyed up to 99 percent of cancer cells in laboratory tests. The method does not use toxic drugs or radiation. The research was published in Nature Chemistry.
It works by using vibrating molecules that break apart cancer cell membranes with incredible speed and accuracy. The molecules, known as aminocyanines, are already used in medical imaging at low doses to detect cancer. But this time, scientists found a new way to use them not as a dye, but as a weapon.
When aminocyanine molecules are exposed to near-infrared light, the light excites them, causing them to vibrate in perfect harmony, moving so fast that they act like tiny molecular jackhammers. These vibrations tear holes in the cancer cells, leaving them unable to survive.
Chemist James Tour from Rice University explained, “It is a whole new generation of molecular machines that we call molecular jackhammers. They are more than one million times faster in their mechanical motion than the former Feringa-type motors, and they can be activated with near-infrared light rather than visible light.”
Scientists say this is an advantage because near-infrared light can travel much deeper into the body, up to 10 centimeters, while visible light can only go half a centimeter. This means tumors inside organs and bones could potentially be treated without surgery.
In experiments on lab-grown melanoma cells, the method destroyed nearly every cancer cell—an astonishing 99 percent success rate. In further tests on mice with melanoma tumors, half of the animals were completely cured after treatment.
Researcher Ciceron Ayala-Orozco, the lead author of the study, said the results were very promising, “This is the first time a molecular plasmon is used in this way to excite the whole molecule and to actually produce mechanical action. In this case, the goal was to tear apart cancer cell membranes.”
He added that every time light hits the molecule, the electrons inside start moving together, forming what scientists call a plasmon. This process makes the molecules vibrate so fast that the force rips the cancer cell apart.
Present cancer treatments like chemotherapy or radiation therapy attack cancer using chemicals or energy. But cancer cells can often find ways to resist drugs or repair themselves after treatment. This new method is different. It uses physical force at the smallest scale possible. The vibrating molecules break apart the cancer cell wall directly, leaving no chance for the cell to survive or build resistance.
Dr. Nisharnthi Duggan, a science engagement manager at Cancer Research UK, who was not part of the study, said the work shows a new direction for cancer therapy. “A major challenge in cancer research is designing medicines that cancer cells won’t become resistant to.
This study raises the possibility of using infrared light to stimulate certain molecules to vibrate and kill cancer cells, a process to which they’re unlikely to develop resistance. It’s still very early, but this idea could lead to new ways to treat some types of cancer.”
Scientists warn that it is still at an early stage. The experiments have been done in laboratories and on mice, but not yet in humans. Before this treatment can be used in hospitals, researchers will need to prove that it is safe and effective for people.
Ayala-Orozco explained, “A similar class of molecules is already being used clinically, and that could help us speed up the translation of this research into human treatment. The challenge is to test safety, possible side effects, and toxicity.”
The discovery has already attracted global attention. Scientists believe that with further development, molecular jackhammers could become a non-invasive therapy for many cancers.
Tour summed up by saying, “Near-infrared light can reach deep into the body, and the molecules move so fast that they literally tear apart cancer cells. We may be at the start of a new generation of cancer therapies.”
