Biomimetic keratin gold nanoparticle-mediated in vitro photothermal therapy on glioblastoma multiforme

This work involves the synthesis and application of nanosized keratin-coated gold particles; a protein extracted from wool. Their effect against a specific type of brain cancer, glioblastoma, is investigated. Gold nanoparticles have been the subject of a lot of interest recently due to their ability to convert light energy into heat energy. When the keratin-coated nanoparticles were up taken into cancerous cells and exposed to light from a laser, they heated up and killed the cancer cells. The next step for this research is to conduct more detailed studies in animals, hopefully leading to a new generation of nanosized therapeutics in the fight against cancer.