NEW DELHI: Researchers have developed microscopic metal particles that can kill cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue, offering a potential new direction for more targeted and less toxic cancer treatments.

The study by the team from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia remains at the cell-culture stage and has not been tested in animals or humans, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, it suggests a new strategy for designing cancer treatments that exploits cancer's own weaknesses.

The international team led by RMIT researchers created tiny particles, known as nanodots, from molybdenum oxide -- a compound based on a rare metal called molybdenum. It is often used in electronics and alloys.

By tweaking their chemical composition, the scientists enabled the

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