New molecular camera could revolutionize bladder cancer screening.
Researchers built a standard catheter fitted with carbon nanotube sensors and a rotating ball lens that maps a bladder cancer biomarker in three dimensions, and tested it in cells and porcine bladders.
Researchers have described a catheter-based sensing system that can locate the source of a bladder cancer biomarker in three dimensions. A publisher correction to the article was published on July 6, 2026. The work targets a known difficulty: measuring molecules in extracted fluids such as urine is hard because samples become diluted and the molecules are unstable outside the body.
The team grafted an annular array of nanosensors onto a standard biomedical catheter. The sensors use near-infrared fluorescent single-walled carbon nanotubes. A scanning optical device with a ball lens reads the signal, which allows the catheter to map chemical release from within a tissue compartment or a luminal space.
The nanosensors are built on a phospholipid copolymer and selectively detect nuclear matrix protein 22 (NMP-22), a bladder cancer biomarker. In cell experiments, sensor responses differed between apoptosis, a form of cell death, in six bladder cancer cell lines and in healthy fibroblast cells. Catheters carrying the sensors also tracked cell death triggered by the drug gemcitabine and monitored protein efflux in vitro.
The authors report spatial imaging of incoming chemical flux, which let them localize biomarker sources in complex tissues and organs. They measured a 182-fold signal enhancement compared with sampling extracted biofluid. In porcine bladders, a catheter with a rotating ball lens chemically imaged the organ and detected biomarker release from up to 2 cm away.
The authors say the results highlight the platform's potential as a point-of-care diagnostic tool. The page shows only the abstract, and the work it describes used cell lines and pig bladders and urethra. It does not describe testing in patients, and the full text is behind a subscription.
Note: The headline calls it a camera that could revolutionize screening. The page describes a catheter-mounted chemical imaging platform tested in cell lines and porcine bladders, with the authors citing only potential as a point-of-care tool and no human testing.
At a Glance
- The sensors detect nuclear matrix protein 22 (NMP-22), a bladder cancer biomarker, using near-infrared fluorescent single-walled carbon nanotubes.
- Sensor responses differed between apoptosis in six bladder cancer cell lines and in healthy fibroblast cells.
- The platform produced 182-fold signal enhancement compared with extracted biofluid sampling.
- In porcine bladders, the catheter detected biomarker efflux from up to 2 cm away.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.