Hydrogen-Releasing Alloys and Cancer Cells in Lab Cell Studies

A special metal alloy can release hydrogen that kills cancer cells without harming normal cells, and this effect is limited to a small area close to the alloy.

Hydrogen released from palladium-nickel alloys selectively killed cancer cells in laboratory cultures while leaving normal cells unharmed, with the effect limited to areas near the alloy surface.

Researchers tested whether hydrogen gas released from a special metal alloy (made of palladium and nickel) could affect cancer cells and normal cells grown in laboratory dishes. They found that the hydrogen killed cancer cells near the alloy surface but did not harm normal cells. The effect only worked within a few millimeters of the alloy, and appeared to be caused by hydrogen radicals (highly reactive forms of hydrogen) released from the metal surface.

This is very early laboratory research using cultured cells, not human studies, so it cannot yet inform real-world hydrogen water use. The hydrogen was delivered directly from a metal alloy surface rather than through drinking hydrogen water, making it unclear whether these findings would apply to hydrogen consumed as a beverage. Much more research would be needed to determine if this approach could ever be developed into a cancer treatment.

The influence of discharged hydrogen from Pd-Ni based hydrogen storage alloys (HSAs) on cultured cells has been investigated. The susceptibility of cells to discharged hydrogen varied with the kind of cells. No influence was seen in the normal cells, while an effect of killing cancer cells was…

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