HN: Czech experts use nano-diamonds to monitor tumours

Prague, Feb 1 (CTK) - Czech experts have developed a method of monitoring tumour cells in patient's body by means of shining nano-probes, which facilitates the uncovering and treatment of malignant tumours as well as development of effective medicines, daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) writes Friday.

The team of scientists from the Czech Organic Chemistry Institute and the Technical University have used miniature particles, nano-diamonds, to form nano-probes that shine in particular colours when exposed to light. They continue shining for years, HN writes.

"The brightness of the particles we have achieved is unexpectedly high compared to the previous research results," said Petr Cigler, from the Organic Chemistry Institute.

Teams of scientists all over the world strive to improve the methods of uncovering malignant tumours.

The Czech team is the only one to develop the shining diamond nano-probes. It has published its results in the prestigious scientific journal Nanoscale, HN writes.

For doctors it is crucially important to be ale to mark some cells or groups of cells by a probe that would enable their long-term monitoring, said Jan Cerny, from Charles University's cell biology department.

"However, the probes must have special qualities. They should not harm cells or even kill them. The diamond nano-material is excellent in this respect," Cerny is quoted as saying.

The new method enables doctors to study how medicines move in the patient's organism, how they enter cells or dissipate, Cerny said.

Up to now, scientists have used organic materials to put light marks on cells, but these materials shine for a few seconds only, unlike the new one, HN writes.