Killing Cancer Cells May Be Possible With “Hairy” Nanorods

Materials scientists from Georgia Tech have developed a new strategy for crafting one-dimensional nanorods from a wide range of precursor materials. Based on a cellulose backbone, the system relies on the growth of block copolymer “arms” that help create a compartment to serve as a nanometer-scale chemical reactor. The outer blocks of the arms prevent aggregation of the nanorods.