Researchers followed the path of nanoparticles into a cell using a combination of several microscopy methods to help design better nanotechnology-based drugs.
It sounds like trying to scan a vinyl record with a hammer: Light is actually too "coarse" to image small particles on the nanometer scale. However, in their project "Supercol"- funded by the Euro .
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To highlight tumours in the body for cancer diagnosis, doctors can use tiny optical probes (nanoprobes) that light up when they attach to tumours. These nanoprobes allow doctors to detect the location, shape and size of cancers in the body.
Most nanoprobes are fluorescent; they absorb light of a specific colour, like blue and then emit back light of a different colour, like green. However, as tissues of the human body can emit light as well, distinguishing the nanoprobe light from the background light can be tough and could lead to the wrong interpretation.
Now, researchers at Imperial College London have developed new nanoprobes, named bioharmonophores and patented at Imperial, which emit light with a new type of glowing technology known as second harmonic generation (SHG).