Light and nanoprobes to find Alzheimer's and cancer spies

The new non-invasive diagnosis technique is based on light, which makes it possible to recognize tumors and some neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, at an early stage. The result, published in the journal Nature Communications, is due to the Italian Institute of Technology (Iit) and the National Research Council (Cnr).

The technique uses nanoprobes in an innovative way to obtain information from inside organs and tissues in a non-invasive way. It can be applied in all cases where the goal to be achieved is at such a depth that other existing diagnostic techniques, such as X-rays or magnetic resonance, are not effective.

Led by Giancarlo Ruocco from IIT and Marco Leonetti of Cnr, the researchers simulated the diffusion of light in a complex system such as the human body in the laboratory and then measured its deformation thanks to a nanoprobe 10,000 times smaller than the diameter. of a hair. "With this technique we are able to see what happens inside the tissues without having real images, but by reconstructing the system based on the angle of refraction of the light", observes Ruocco.

The nanoprobe, Leonetti adds, "behaves like a satellite sent into space, which collects information in its vicinity and transmits it to Earth. It measures the properties of light in the vicinity and manages to send it to the measuring instruments of researchers beyond the 'wall. opaque '(of the organ or tissue ed). In this way information can be obtained in vivo, avoiding more invasive interventions ".

Thanks to this discovery, Ruocco concludes, "we can therefore think of a future generation of biocompatible nanoprobes capable of giving us information on the appearance of local alterations of the biological tissue in inaccessible areas, as happens for some neurodegenerative diseases, or for tumors".