Targeting tumors using silver nanoparticles

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have designed a nanoparticle that has a couple of unique -- and important -- properties. Spherical in shape and silver in composition, it is encased in a shell coated with a peptide that enables it to target tumor cells. What's more, the shell is etchable so those nanoparticles that don't hit their target can be broken down and eliminated. The research findings appear today in the journal Nature Materials.