tiny gold particles are effective antidotes to lung cancer. The particles selectively destroy A549, a certain type of human lung cancer cells. This may be an important step in developing nanomedicines from gold.

"This is the first report stating the nanoparticles have this specific property,' says Anjan Dasgupta who led the research team at the Calcutta University. The findings of the study have been published in the journal Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine (Vol 3, Issue 2).

"During the experiment, fluorescence microscopic images clearly showed that when lung and kidney cancer cells were exposed to nanoparticles in different concentrations, they could cause the breaking of the nucleus of the cancer cells. An increase in the concentration of the nanoparticles also intensified the destruction. Nanoparticles have been used till date only as a mere vehicle to carry specific antibodies inside cells. The study suggests that they have a bigger role to play in therapeutics. The new treatment could be an alternative to toxic treatments like chemotherapy.