Killing Cancer Cells With Acid Reflux

A University of Central Florida chemist has come up with a unique way to kill certain cancer cells – give them acid reflux.

Chemistry professor Kevin Belfield used a special salt to make cancer cells more acidic – similar to the way greasy foods cause acid reflux in some people. He used a light-activated, acid-generating molecule to make the cells more acidic when exposed to specific wavelengths of light, which in turn kills the bad cells. The surrounding healthy cells stay intact.

Kevin Belfield works in his lab at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. (Credit: University of Central Florida)

Credit: http://today.ucf.edu