A Fluorophore-nanoparticle Composite Designed for the Early Stage Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease

The seeming unstoppable rise of Alzheimer's disease (AD) worldwide represents a significant and challenging public health problem.

However, early diagnosis of AD can enable improved disease treatments and alleviate significant associated symptoms, thereby, significantly improving a patients outlook and quality of life. Amyloid β-protein (Aβ-protein) is a particularly important biomarker for AD.

The pathological features of Alzheimer's disease in the brain are characterized by the deposition of amyloid β-protein in the hippocampus and cortex of the brain, as well as neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) due to hyperphosphorylation of Tau protein. With this research we plan to develop a near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging tools for the early diagnosis of AD.

A nanocarrier approach will be used to selectively release in a controlled manner a NIR imaging probe.

The probe will be selectively released from the nanocarrier upon action of enzymes (such as acetylcholinesterase) found in the AD microenvironment.

When compared with current diagnostic tools such as single electron emission computed tomography (SPECT) and Positron emission computed tomography (PET) imaging, our approach does not require expensive equipment and can achieve high sensitivity and selectivity.

Additionally, in comparison with other optical imaging approaches, the fluorescence of the NIR imaging probe will only be turned on when activated by the AD microenvironment/enzymes, facilitating both high sensitivity and selectivity during deep tissue imaging of the brain. We anticipate that our approach will enable the development of clinically relevant tools for the early diagnosis of AD.