Scientists at the University of Southampton (United Kingdom) have developed smart nanomaterials, which can disrupt the blood supply to cancerous tumors. Antonios Kanaras and colleagues have showed that a small dose of gold nanoparticles can activate or inhibit genes that are involved in angiogenesis – a complex process responsible for the supply of oxygen and nutrients to most types of cancer. Further, the team was able to control the degree of damage to the endothelial cells – cells that line blood vessels and play a pivotal role in angiogenesis – using laser illumination. Endothelial cells construct the interior of blood vessels and play a pivotal role in angiogenesis. The researchers submit that: “Our results show that plasmon-mediated mild laser treatment, combined with specific targeting of cellular membranes, enables new routes for controlling cell permeability and gene regulation in endothelial cells.”