EPFL researchers have used electrochemical imaging to take a step forward in mapping the distribution of biomolecules in tissue. This technology, which uses only endogenous markers - rather than contrast agents - could be an alternative to current cell imaging techniques. In the field of theranostics - a portmanteau of the words "therapy" and "diagnostics" - researchers use spatial information about cancer cells in the body to come up with targeted therapies. But this approach requires fluorescent markers. Electrochemical imaging, which uses only the tissue's natural - or endogenous - electrochemical markers, could also provide doctors with what they need to make diagnoses and prescribe therapies. In a recent breakthrough, EPFL researchers, working with Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan, employed a technique called scanning electrochemical microscopy to produce images of hemoglobin in a mouse's heart. In order to map out the distribution of biomarkers and nanomaterials in animal and human tissue, the EPFL researchers used a scanner equipped with electrochemical probes.
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