Researchers from Georgia Tech and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta have developed a technique that assists in identifying tumors from normal brain tissue during surgery by staining tumor cells blue.

The technique could be critically important for hospitals lacking sophisticated equipment in preserving the maximum amount of normal tissue and brain function during surgery.

Published this week in the journal Drug Delivery and Translational Medicine, the research was led by Dr. Barun Brahma, M.D., Children's neurosurgeon and biomedical engineer, and Ravi Bellamkonda, the Carol Ann and David D. Flanagan Chair in Biomedical Engineering at the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.

Brahma initially approached the Georgia Tech-based laboratory of Bellamkonda to see if it would be possible to manually distinguish a tumor from normal tissue during surgery without using complex equipment that might be unavailable to some health facilities.

Bellamkonda’s lab developed a nanocarrier made of fat that carried a clinically approved dye called Evans Blue. The team demonstrated that these nanocarriers leak out of blood vessels in the tumor margin and stain brain tumors blue. Using tumor cells injected into a rat brain, the team proved nanocarriers are able to find their way to the brain tumor and selectively dye it blue while excluding normal brain tissue.

The findings are significant for hospitals worldwide that lack machines to help guide tumor removal, such as an intraoperative MRI machine. This new technique could help neurosurgeons remove brain tumors in children more accurately all over the world, the researchers said.

Brahma, Bellamkonda and other collaborators are developing a range of nanotechnologies designed to treat brain tumors and traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. Other authors on the article include researchers from the Bellamkonda lab and Phil Santangelo, assistant professor and optical imaging expert in the joint biomedical engineering department at Georgia Tech and Emory University. The collaboration embodies the power and potential of the rapidly growing partnership between Children's, Georgia Tech and Emory.

The research effort is in collaboration with the Children's Neurosciences Center. This effort is part of the Emory+Children’s Pediatric Research Center led by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University, including partnerships with the Georgia Institute of Technology and Morehouse School of Medicine. The research was funded by Ian’s Friends Foundation in Atlanta and the Georgia Cancer Coalition. 

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta 
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, a not-for-profit organization, is dedicated to making kids better today and healthier tomorrow. The facility’s specialized care helps children get better faster and live healthier lives. Managing more than half a million patient visits annually at three hospitals and 17 neighborhood locations, Children’s is the largest healthcare provider for children in Georgia and one of the largest pediatric clinical care providers in the country. Children’s offers access to more than 60 pediatric specialties and programs and is ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report. With generous philanthropic and volunteer support, Children’s has made an impact in the lives of children in Georgia, the United States and throughout the world. Visit www.choa.org for more information.