Revolutionary Digital Tool Tracks Substances in the Body
Scientists have taken a revolutionary step in medicine with the creation of a public access digital tool capable of accurately tracking which substances circulate through the body. It is a virtual library that identifies drugs and chemical compounds in human and environmental samples, allowing a much more in-depth diagnosis of health status.
The initiative was led by experts from the University of California, San Diego and the findings were presented in the prestigious magazine Nature Communications with the support of researchers from more than ten countries.
Why do we accumulate substances in the body?
The presence of chemicals in the body is not always intentional. Along with prescription medications or self-medication, many people accidentally ingest compounds.This includes antibiotics present in meats, pesticides in vegetables, or even contaminants in water.
In many cases, patients do not remember exactly what they have ingested, and these substances can persist in the blood, urine, skin, or breast milk without being detected by conventional methods.
To address this details gap, the research team turned to metabolomics, a specialty that analyzes the smallest molecules in living beings and their functional impact.
Operation of the GNPS Drug Library
This project gave rise to the GNPS Drug Library, a repository that stores the “chemical fingerprints” of thousands of pharmaceutical products. The system uses mass spectrometry, an advanced technique that separates and weighs molecules to identify each component with surgical precision.
!The tool identified the presence of antibiotics in meat samples analyzed during the study.(Freepik)
By analyzing a simple sample of saliva, blood, or food, doctors can determine the origin of the substance, its pharmaceutical class, and how it is interact
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