The
dye in your blue jeans could soon be used to kill cancer cells, say
scientists. UK researchers are employing tiny gold "nanoparticles", 1/5000th the
thickness of a human hair, to deliver the chemical compound directly into cancer
cells, tearing them apart instantly. The common dye found in blue jeans
and ballpoint pens is called phthalocyanine and is a light-activated, or
photosensitive, agent with cell-destroying properties.
This has been known for at least 15 years but, until now, scientists have not
been able to successfully deliver it into cells; hence there's no harm in
wearing blue jeans. The University of East Anglia (UEA) team used the gold
particles as "trojan horses". Their small size enables them to easily enter
cells, and the phthalocyanine is taken up along with them. When pulsed
with laser light, the compound produces a highly reactive form of oxygen which
causes the cancer cells to commit suicide.