Scientists at the University of Central Florida have used gold to develop a new cancer detection method that could offer substantial improvements over current methods.

According to BioOptics World, nanoparticles made from the precious metal help to seek out cancer biomarkers, as they can be detected with the use of dynamic light scattering.

The process, which is known as nanoDLSAY and has been developed by professor Qun Huo of the university's NanoScience Technology Centre, can be used to detect the disease at an early stage, as well as to monitor patients' progress after surgery.

It is hoped that once prototype products have undergone testing, the technology will be available to the diagnostic market within the next five years.

Elsewhere in the nanotechnology sector, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology believe they can use gold nanorods to help destroy harmful cancer tumours while minimising the risk of harming healthy cells, Nanowerk News reports.

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