Scientists create LED light that kills cancer cells without harming healthy ones
Scientists have developed a promising cancer therapy that uses LED light and ultra-thin flakes of tin to eliminate cancer cells while protecting healthy tissue. Unlike traditional chemotherapy and other invasive treatments, this new method avoids the painful side effects patients often endure.
The 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 lab setups, 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), the researchers have created a safer and potentially low-cost alternative.
LED Light and Nanoflakes Team Up Against Cancer
“Our goal was to create a treatment that is not only effective but also safe and accessible,” said Jean Anne Incorvia, a professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and one of the leaders on the project. “With the combination of LED light and SnOx nanoflakes, we’ve developed a method to precisely target cancer cells while leaving healthy cells untouched.”
In a recent study published in ACS Nano, the approach proved highly effective against both colorectal and skin cancer cells. After only 30 minutes of exposure, the LED-driven 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 therapy’s precision and safety.
A Safer Alternative to Conventional Cancer Treatments
Cancer remains the second-leading cause of death worldwide, and many existing treatments come with severe side effects. Scientists across the globe 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 drugs. This principle forms the foundation of the UT Austin-Portugal team’s research.
Having shown strong early results, the researchers are now focused on understanding how light and heat interact in the process and on testing other materials that might enhance the treatment. They also plan to design practical medical devices that can deliver the therapy directly to patients.
Bringing Light-Based Cancer Care to Patients
“Our ultimate goal is to make this technology available to patients everywhere, especially 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 of the University of Porto and lead researcher 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 any remaining cancer cells, reducing the risk of recurrence.”
Incorvia and Pinto first teamed up 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 Research Frontier
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 article are: Ph.D. student Hui-Ping Chang (led development of the nanoflakes) and undergraduate student Eva Nance of The University of Texas at Austin; Filipa A.L.S. Silva (performed biological characterization), Susana G. Santos (supervised the work) and professor Fernão Magalhães (contributed to securing funding) of 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 of 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.
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