UCLA researchers have developed a “nanoimpeller” nanomachine that stores anticancer drugs inside pores and then releases them into cancer cells in response to light.

They claim it’s the first light-powered nanomachine that operates inside a living cell.

The interior of the pores are coated with azobenzene, a chemical that oscillates between two different shapes upon light exposure. The amount of drug released can be precisely controlled by the light’s intensity, excitation time and specific wavelength.