Research from scientists at the University have found that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) – hollow cylinders made up of carbon atoms – can be harnessed to target cancer-causing agents within human cells.

The CNTs could deliver their anti-cancer payloads directly to tumours, which would then expel the nanotubes within 24 hours.

Johnjoe McFadden, Professor of Molecular Genetics and lead scientist for the project, said: “This research shows that CNTs do not accumulate inside living cells, so they can be used to deliver drugs or genes without causing any permanent harm.

“Although much still needs to be done, this is an essential step to developing CNTs as revolutionary therapeutic agents.”

Professor Ravi Silva, Director of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute and co-author of the report, said that nanotechnology could be used to develop new treatments for other diseases, including diabetes and coronary heart disease.

He added: “The hope is that customised nanoparticles such as CNT can be injected in the body where they will fix a defective gene or deliver a drug to a sick cell.

“In this study we show some of the fears associated with nano-toxicology can be mitigated against by carefully controlling the parameters and understanding the key issues in preparing nano-vehicles for theranostic applications.”