Thursday, 30th October 2008 (258 views)

A new technique has been developed that could help scientists perfect the approach of using gold nanoparticles to deliver medicine into the human body.

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Nist) in the US have created a 'through-focus scanning optical microscope' (TSOM) that can provide enhanced images of tiny particles.

As obtaining the perfect size is "critical" in using gold nanoparticles to carry life-saving drugs into the body, the TSOM is significant for this type of treatment.

Scientists can use the TSOM to gain an optical image of a gold particle, then compare it to a library of simulated pictures to determine whether it passes or fails quality standards.

Nist researcher Ravikiran Attota revealed that the method is also "much less expensive" than procedures that are currently used.

Recently, it emerged that McMaster University in Canada had become one of the first in the world to receive a powerful new electron microscope, which allowed academics to observe gold atoms in much finer detail.

 

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