Short Summary
Scientists have developed a new material made from mushrooms that could help in treating cancer. They combined a type of mushroom called Pleurotus tuber-regium, commonly known as King tuber oyster mushroom, with gold to create a hybrid material that can be used in cancer photothermal therapy. This means that they used light to heat up the material and kill cancer cells. The material was tested in a laboratory and was found to be effective and safe.
How did they do it?
The scientists developed a nanohybrid, called AuNR-Glu, made of mushroom β-glucan (from Pleurotus tuber-regium sclerotial β-glucan) and gold nanorods. They found that the hybrid was colloidally stable, had low cytotoxicity, and was effective against cancer cells in vitro at a low dose under near-infrared (NIR-II) laser at a safe power density.
Properties of the mushroom
- Type: Pleurotus tuber-regium
- Part used: Sclerotial β-glucan
- Properties:
- Colloidally stable
- Low cytotoxicity
- Photothermal stability
Genus, Species, and Common Name of the Mushroom
| Genus | Species | Common Name |
|---|---|---|
| Pleurotus | tuber-regium | King tuber oyster mushroom |
Study: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b03895
Publication of the study: October 10, 2017
