US Patent 8197471 - Core-excited nanoparticles used in cancer treatment

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8197471.html

This patent from inventor Samuel Harry Tersigni teaches a way to increase the thermal energy that can be produced by nanoparticles used in cancer therapies to improve the effectiveness of the therapy. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for generating heat in an amount sufficient to kill or damage target cells or tissue, comprising:

a) delivering on, in or nearby cells or tissue to be killed or damaged, nanoparticles comprising a core of a first chemical composition surrounded by a shell of a second chemical composition, wherein the core comprises core-exciting energy absorbing species which transfer energy to the shell in an amount sufficient for the shell to heat the cells or tissue to be killed or damaged, when the nanoparticles are exposed to core-exciting energy, and

b) exposing the nanoparticles to the core-exciting energy in a manner and duration such that the nanoparticles emit heat in sufficient quantity to kill or damage the cells or tissue.