New 'nanojuice' provides non-invasive, real-time imaging of the gut

Scientists have incorportated a special 'nanojuice' into new imaging technology for one of the body's most crucial but difficult to view organs.

Because it’s so deeply nestled in the human gut, the small intestine is difficult to examine, but it’s linked to several common gastrointestinal illnesses including irritable bowel syndrome, coeliac disease and Crohn’s disease. 

Right now, when patients need to have their small intestines examined, they’re asked drink a thick, chalky liquid called barium, which is used conjunction with x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasounds to view and assess the organ. But there are limitations and concerns with these imaging techniques with regards to safety, accessibility and a lack of adequate contrast. And they still don’t provide real-time imaging of the muscle movement in the organ as it processes incoming food.

So researchers from the University at Buffalo in the US have developed a new ‘nanojuice’ that people can drink to help doctors see inside this obscured organ. 

Filled with nanoparticles suspended in a liquid, this juice will travel through the digestive system, and upon reaching the small intestine, be struck by doctors with a harmless laser light, which allows for a clear, non-invasive and real-time look into the working organ. This means a better chance of identifying and treating the gastrointestinal illnesses that arise here.

"Conventional imaging methods show the organ and blockages, but this method allows you to see how the small intestine operates in real time," said one of the team, Jonathan Lovell, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, in a press release. "Better imaging will improve our understanding of these diseases and allow doctors to more effectively care for people suffering from them."

The team developed the nanojuice using dye molecules called naphthalocyanines, which absorb large portions of light in the near-infrared spectrum, which is the ideal range for use with contrast agents that make imaging techniques more effective. These dye molecules were packaged inside special nanoparticles called ‘nanonaps’ that made the dyes safe for human consumption and easily dispersed in liquid.

The team reports in the journal Nature Nanotechnology that they have conducted successful trials in lab mice, and are now getting the technique ready for human trials.