A new class of specially engineered nanoparticles that can target, image, and kill tumor cells could be a potent weapon against cancer.

The new nanoengineered system, designed by physician and researcher James Baker and his colleagues at the University of Michigan, contains gold nanoparticles with branching polymers called dendrimers that sprout off the nanoparticle’s surface and can carry a number of different molecules, including molecules that target cancer cells, fluorescent imaging agents, and drugs that slow down or kill the cells.