Gold Nanoparticles Can Remote Control the Brain

Smithsonian

For the Guardian, Mo Costandi describes two proposed treatments that use gold nanoparticles to switch nerve cells on. A group of researchers at the University of Chicago, led by Francisco Benzanilla, created gold nanorods that will attach to specific molecules embedded in nerve cell membranes. A gentle pulse of infrared light warms the nanorods which in turn causes the neurons to fire. They’ve tested the system using dorsal root ganglion [DRG] neurons, which cluster in the spinal cord and are important for relaying information about pain and touch