In order to use the drug in a solid liver tumor, the team first needed to turn it into self-organizing nanobubbles that remain inert until released by sonic waves. The team then injected the drug into the ablated liver of a live pig and and used 3D ultrasound to both image the tumor and burst the nanobubbles, activating the treatment.

It was apparently successful, though the researchers didn't say to what extent it killed cancer cells. However, Pan said that they were able to examine the treatment from "atomic to molecular to cell, tissue and then organ level," and added that "the next step could be to test them in humans." If that works, it may allow doctors to re-purpose chemotherapy drugs to treat difficult forms of cancer. It could also fall by the wayside like many cancer treatments before, but it's certainly one of the more creative uses of nanotechnology that we've seen.