Researchers develop nanoparticles for the diagnosis of eye diseases

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Researchers from the Institute of Materials Science of Madrid (ICMM-CSIC) and the Margarita Salas Biological Research Center (CIB-CSIC) have developed a new type of sense that uses nanomaterials to facilitate the diagnosis of diseases that affect the eyes.

To create these probes, the researchers have used silver sulfide nanoparticles, which emit light in the infrared range (luminescence). These sensors, applied to the optical coherence tomography (OCT) technique, which is very common and powerful for diagnosing eye diseases, act in a dual way: they behave as contrast agents in OCT and, in addition, they allow obtaining high-resolution luminescence infrared images of the interior of the eye. Beatriz H. Juárez, a scientist at the ICMM-CSIC and one of the study's main authors, highlights that this double function of nanoparticles "facilitates the development of new diagnostic methods for eye diseases."

This is due to the improvement in the quality of diagnostic images associated with the ability of the probes to "emit a very bright light capable of passing through tissues and a high light scattering power", explains the researcher from the Autonomous University of Madrid and co-main author of the work Emma Martín Rodríguez. These results have been possible thanks to the use of a type of biocompatible polymeric material "that surrounds the surface of the nanoparticles, controls the size of the probes, and provides a protective layer that preserves the infrared light emission properties of the nanoparticles", explains the ICMM-CSIC researcher Amalia Coro.

The study was carried out in mouse models and is an example of interdisciplinary research that has involved the coordination of chemists, physicists, biologists, and biotechnologists from the CSIC, the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), the CIC-biomaGUNE (Association Center for Cooperative Research Biomaterials) and the IMDEA Nanoscience Foundation.

"By expanding the possibilities of OCT, our research could have a significant impact on diagnosis, as well as facilitating monitoring of the therapeutic potential of new treatments for retinal diseases," concludes Enrique J. de la Rosa, a CIB researcher.

Reference:

Coro, A. Herrero Ruiz, M. Pazo‐González, A. Sánchez‐Cruz, T. Busch, A. Hernández Medel, E. C. Ximendes, D. H. Ortgies, R. López‐Méndez, A. Espinosa, D. Jimenez de Aberasturi, D. Jaque, N. F. Monsalve, E. J. de la Rosa, C. Hernández‐Sánchez, E. Martín Rodríguez, B. H. Juárez. Ag2S Biocompatible Ensembles as Dual OCT Contrast Agents and NIR Ocular Imaging Probes. Small. DOI: 10.1002/smll.202305026

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