Nanoneedle Patch: Non-Invasive Alternative to Traditional Biopsies

New Delhi: A patch containing tens of millions of microscopic nanoneedles could soon replace traditional biopsies, offering a less invasive and painless diagnostic alternative for conditions such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. The study, published in Nature Nanotechnology, demonstrated that the nanoneedle patch can collect detailed molecular information from tissues without removing or damaging them.

Biopsies are among the most widely used diagnostic tools globally, performed millions of times each year to detect disease. However, they are invasive, can cause discomfort and complications, and may deter patients from undergoing early diagnosis or repeated follow-up testing. Traditional biopsies also remove small samples of tissue, limiting how frequently or thoroughly doctors can monitor disease progression in sensitive organs like the brain.

Each patch is embedded with tens of millions of nanoneedles—structures 1,000 times thinner than a human hair. In preclinical studies, the researchers applied the patch to brain cancer tissue from human biopsies and mouse models. These nanoneedles extracted a molecular “fingerprint”—including lipids, proteins, and mRNAs—from the cells without causing any damage.

The extracted data is then analyzed through mass spectrometry and artificial intelligence, allowing clinicians to identify tumors, monitor treatment effectiveness, and track disease progression at the cellular level. “This approach provides multidimensional molecular information from different types of cells within the same tissue. Traditional biopsies simply cannot do that,” said Dr. Ciro Chiappini, lead researcher of the study. “And because the process does not destroy the tissue, we can sample the same tissue multiple times, which was previously impossible.”

The innovation represents a promising shift toward more precise, patient-friendly diagnostics, with the potential to transform disease monitoring and advance the field of real-time, personalized medicine.

Reference: Chenlei Gu, Davide Alessandro Martella, Leor Ariel Rose, Nadia Rouatbi, Cong Wang, Alaa Zam, Valeria Caprettini, Magnus Jensen, Shiyue Liu, Cathleen Hagemann, Siham Memdouh, Andrea Serio, Vincenzo Abbate, Khuloud T. Al-Jamal, Maddy Parsons, Mads S. Bergholt, Paul M. Brennan, Assaf Zaritsky, and Ciro Chiappini. Nanoneedles enable spatiotemporal lipidomics of living tissues. Nature Nanotechnology, 2025; DOI: 10.1038/s41565-025-01955-8