Biosearch Life Applies For a Patent For The Diagnosis of Tumors Using Probiotic Bacteria

08 Jul 2013 ---- The patent would also protect the application of the probiotic bacteria in the administration of mineral supplements improving their bioavailability.

Biosearch Life, a biotechnology company of reference in the world of healthy ingredients, has announced the patent application for probiotic bacteria loaded with metal nanoparticles for the diagnosis and treatment of tumors, as well as for the application in the administration of mineral supplements in humans, improving their bioavailability and reducing side effects.

With this ambitious new patent, result of intense dedication in research, Biosearch Life protects the use of certain probiotic species in different fields:

The technology developed by Biosearch Life enables the incorporation of magnetic nano particles to the bacteria, making them visible by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging. This makes it possible to see the tissues where the particles are located, opening a door to the development of a new generation of oral diagnostic agents and the treatment of tumors.

In addition, this technology allows incorporation of a large group of minerals like calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, etc to the bacteria. As a result, new applications can be achieved with the highly mineral-enriched bacteria like:

- Side effect reduction from the direct administration of minerals

- Improvement of the bio-availability of minerals

- Solution for common organoleptic and technological problems in their addition to functional foods.


With this project, Biosearch Life stands out once again as a global leader in the area of biotechnological research, moving away from the classic approach in the field of probiotics, and supporting the search for new un-explored applications.

This patent is a result of the collaboration between the University of Granada and Biosearch Life in the framework of a research project funded by the Agency of Innovation and Development of Andalusia (IDEA). This project, called “New applications for probiotic strains and derivate compounds with biological activity”, was born in 2011 and aimed to expand the general potential application of probiotic microorganisms and particularly of the strains developed by Biosearch Life.


One of the objectives of the project has been to explore the technical feasibility of the use of probiotic bacteria as a mineral nano particles vehicle. For this purpose, Biosearch Life has collaborated with the research group of Dr. José Manuel Domínguez Vera, from the Department of Inorganic Chemistry and the Institute of Biotechnology of the University of Granada. An effective route to incorporate mineral nanoparticles to the peptidoglycan wall of lactic acid bacteria and a bacterium of the genus Bifidobacterium has been achieved, giving rise to new products with extraordinary potential.