Cancer treatment uses LED light and 'atomically thin' materials to destroy cells

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A ray of light may be key to fighting cancer. Researchers with the University of Texas and University of Porto in Portugal have revealed a new tool in the healthcare battle: LEDs and super tiny metal. The treatment could see the need for chemotherapy end.

"One of the things that we can leverage against cancer is the fact that cancer cells grow very quickly, and therefore they're very leaky," said Jean Anne Incorvia, an associate professor in electrical and computer engineering at UT Austin in the Cockrell School of Engineering.

Those leaky cells are key to a new technique: using atomically thin sheets, called 2D material, breaking them down so cancer cells can absorb them, then using near infrared light produced by LEDs to heat the cancer cells up until they burst.

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