Green technology using gold nanoparticles could be the golden ticket to treating liver cancer. At University of Missouri School of Medicine, researchers prove that a new minimally invasive approach targets and destroys precancerous tumor cells in the livers of mice and in-vitro human cells. Researchers are using gold nanoparticles encapsulated by a protective stabilizer called gum Arabic. It promotes the bonding of gold nanoparticles that are engineered to attract precancerous and malignant cells. They travel and attach themselves to cancerous cells. Then they are heated to a temperature that destroys cancer cells through a process known as photothermal therapy.