Use of nanoparticles in the photodynamic treatment of tumors and non-destructive testing

A method for treating tumors in animals including humans by photo-dynamic therapy comprising the step of:

• administering an effective amount of nano-particles to a target site an animal including a cancerous growth and/or tumor,
• administering an photo effective amount of a photosensitizer molecules to the target site,
• applying a first radiation type to the target site, and
• applying a second radiation type to the target site,
• where the two administering steps can be performed collectively or separately, where the nano-particles are independent of the photosensizer, where the radiation generates energetic electrons, the nano-particles are capable of absorbing a portion of the electrons, where the nano-particles have a bandgap of a value sufficient to convert a portion of the absorbed electrons into photons having a frequency range corresponding to an absorption frequency range of the photosensitizer molecules, and where the photosensitizer molecules absorb a portion of the photons activating oxygen to form oxygen radicals capable of producing a localized photodynamic therapeutic affect reducing a number of cancer cells or reducing a size of the tumor.