Researchers Develop 'Nanojuice' That will Help Doctors Examine the Gut

A new imaging technique, which is still being developed, might enhance the identification, understanding and treatment of gastrointestinal ailments, a new study reveals.

The small intestine present deep in the human gut is very difficult to examine in detail. Even though snapshots can be taken using X-rays, MRIs and ultrasound - these have certain limitation. Due to these challenges, it gets difficult to diagnose irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease and other gastrointestinal diseases.

But, researchers at the University of Buffalo offer help by developing a new imaging technique that involves nanoparticles that are suspended in liquid to form 'nanojuice'. The patients can drink the nanojuice, on reaching the small intestine, the doctors would strike the nanoparticles using a harmless laser light, providing an unparalleled, non-invasive, real-time view of the organ.

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

The average length of the human small intestine is roughly 23 feet and its thickness is 1 inch. It is clubbed between the stomach and large intestine, and is the region where mostly digestion and absorption of food takes place. This is the same region where symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, Crohn's disease and other gastrointestinal illnesses occur.

In order to assess the organ, the doctors typically need the patients to drink a thick, chalky liquid called barium. Then using X-rays, MRI and ultrasounds, the doctors can assess the organ.  But, these techniques are not effective at providing real-time imaging movement such as peristalsis - contraction of muscles - that propel food through small intestine.

In this research, the doctors worked with naphthalcyanines, a family of dyes. These molecules absorb large portions of light in the near-infrared spectrum. They are not unsuitable for human body, but they don't disperse in liquid and be easily absorbed from intestine into blood stream.

The researchers formed nanoparticles called nanoaps that have colorful dye molecules and added the ability to disperse in liquid and move safely through the small intestine.

"In laboratory experiments performed with mice, the researchers administered the nanojuice orally. They then used photoacoustic tomography (PAT), which is pulsed laser lights that generate pressure waves that, when measured, provide a real-time and more nuanced view of the small intestine," researchers said.

The finding was documented in journal Nature Nanotechnology.