Overview
- Engineers and clinicians from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Duke University report a nanoparticle‑enhanced saline that increases laser lithotripsy efficiency without modifying existing lasers.
- In lab tests on synthetic stones, ablation efficiency rose by 38–727% in spot mode and 26–75% in scanning mode when the nanofluid was used.
- The dark, conducting‑polymer nanoparticles make the irrigating fluid absorb light near 2,000 nanometers, directing more laser energy into the stone rather than heating surrounding saline.
- Short‑term in vitro assays showed no toxicity to living cells after up to 24 hours of exposure to the effective formulation.
- Experiments used Ho:YAG lasers and lab‑grown stones, and the authors plan to test other lithotripsy lasers and real patient stones before pursuing in vivo or clinical studies.