Neoplastic cells and other diseased tissues often consume less oxygen than healthy cells, a characteristic that’s been extensively studied for diagnostic purposes. Now researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Oxford University have engineered an injectable compound that glows in different colors depending on the amount of intracellular oxygen.

The material consists of europium and terbium lanthanide elements. The former glows red while terbium emits a green glow. Europium’s light emission is not affected by the presence of oxygen, but terbium’s green color gets brighter at lower oxygen levels. Previously, nanoparticles have been designed that change their brightness when oxygen concentrations changes, yet one could never tell whether that’s due to an abnormal level of oxygen or simply too many of the particles concentrating in one area. The new rare earth nanoparticles solve this problem by focusing on the color of the emitted light rather than its intensity.

Because they’ve progressed quite a bit in the laboratory already, the investigators believe that perhaps even this year the technology will begin being tested in human subjects.

source:Nanomedicine