Scientists have developed a promising cancer therapy that uses LED light and ultra-fine tin flakes to eliminate cancer cells while protecting healthy tissue. Unlike traditional chemotherapy and other invasive treatments, this new method avoids the painful side effects that patients often experience.
This breakthrough comes from a partnership between the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Porto in Portugal, made possible through the UT Austin Portugal program. The collaboration aims to make light-based cancer therapies more accessible and affordable. Current versions of these treatments rely on expensive materials, specialized laboratory facilities, and powerful lasers that can sometimes damage surrounding tissue. By switching to LEDs and introducing tin-based “SnOx nanoflakes” (“Sn” is the chemical symbol for tin), researchers have created a safer and potentially less expensive alternative.
LED light and nanoflakes team up against cancer
“Our goal was to create a treatment that was not only effective but also safe and accessible,” said Jean Anne Incorvia, professor in the Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering and one of the leaders of the project. “Through the combination of LED light and SnOx nanoflakes, we have developed a method to precisely target cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact.”
In a recent study published in ACS Nanothe approach was found to be highly effective against colorectal and skin cancer cells. After just 30 minutes of exposure, the LED treatment destroyed up to 92% of skin cancer cells and 50% of colorectal cancer cells, while leaving healthy human skin cells unharmed. The results highlight the precision and safety of the therapy.
A safer alternative to conventional cancer treatments
Cancer remains the second leading cause of death worldwide and many existing treatments cause serious side effects. Scientists around the world are exploring new methods to make therapies safer and more targeted. One of the most promising is near-infrared photothermal therapy, which uses light to heat and destroy cancer cells without the need for surgery or toxic medications. This principle forms the basis of the UT Austin-Portugal team’s research.
After showing good initial results, the researchers are now focusing on understanding how light and heat interact during the process and testing other materials that could improve the treatment. They also plan to design practical medical devices that can deliver therapy directly to patients.
Bringing light-based cancer care to patients
“Our ultimate goal is to make this technology accessible to patients around the world, especially in places where access to specialized equipment is limited, with fewer side effects and lower cost,” said Artur Pinto, a researcher at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto and principal investigator of the project in Portugal. “For skin cancers in particular, we envision that one day treatment could move from the hospital to the patient’s home. A portable device could be placed on the skin after surgery to irradiate and destroy remaining cancer cells, reducing the risk of recurrence.”
Incorvia and Pinto first partnered through the UT Austin Portugal program in 2021. Since then, they have exchanged visits between Texas and Portugal and combined their expertise to explore how two-dimensional materials can be used to advance cancer therapies.
Expanding the boundaries of research
Building on their success, the team recently received additional funding through the UT Austin Portugal program to create an implant for breast cancer patients using the same LED and nanoflake technology. Their continued collaboration could pave the way for more personalized, affordable and pain-free cancer treatments in the near future.
Other co-authors of the paper are: Ph.D. student Hui-Ping Chang (led the development of the nanoflakes) and undergraduate student Eva Nance of the University of Texas at Austin; Filipa ALS Silva (biological characterization carried out), Susana G. Santos (supervised the work) and Professor Fernão Magalhães (contributed to securing the funding) from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto; and José R. Fernandes of the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, who developed the LED systems.
The UT Austin Portugal Program is a long-standing science and technology partnership between UT and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). Portugal has similar partnerships with two other U.S. universities – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University – and its 17-year collaboration with UT was recently renewed for another five years.
