Using nanoparticles to fight war on terror

DAVIS, CA (KGO) -- Scientists, at UC Davis are discovering new ways to keep us safe from terrorism by using nano-particles. It's a new and quick technique for detecting biotoxins by using magnets and a high-tech flashlight.

Doctors are now relying on millions of tiny beads called nanoparticles. Mix them into a food sample, add a magnet, and you have what could be the future of the war on bioterrorism.

"We have discovered that it's possible to synthesize the particles with a magnetic core, preserving both the magnetic properties and the fluorescent or phosphorescent properties," says Ian Kennedy, UC Davis Mech Engineering.

That's right. Ian Kennedy's tiny particles are not only magnetic, they glow. What does this mean for the safety of your food?

Mix them into your food. If there are any poisons, like pesticides, their molecules will stick to the beads. You collect all the tiny particles with a magnet. Finally, pass the particles in front of laser light. If there is poison stuck to them, they will glow.

"The lab-based technique is fairly slow and expensive. We were looking for a solution which is much quicker, much cheaper, could be deployed out in the field and could be used for a wide variety of toxins -- both in the environment, and, currently, we're interested in food," says Kennedy.

The US Department of Agriculture is funding Kennedy and his team at UC Davis to develop bioterror agent detection in food. Already, they have an effective assay for ricin, one of the most feared bioterror toxins. However, because the particles are magnetic, they also have potential in the war on cancer.

"If you introduce a magnetic field and oscillate it very rapidly, the nanoparticles will heat up -- hot enough to kill the cancer cells -- without harming any other cells in the body."

This is not a treatment for cancer yet but it is one example of the big potential for tiny particles, magnets and lasers.

LINKS:

UC Davis Collge of Engineering

Foresight Nanotech Institute

US Department of Agriculture Food Safety

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