An effective fluorescent molecular probe that can be utilised in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease has been created by a multi-institutional collaboration under the direction of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur. IIT Kharagpur and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (CSIR-IICB) in Kolkata have both collaborated on the study.
The evaluation of cognitive abilities, the observation of brain size and structure using SPECT, PET, and MRI scans, and the discovery of amyloid plaques are all necessary for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid plaques can be found using PET scans or by drawing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) through a spinal tap. Although both techniques are effective, they are intrusive and costly, according to an IIT Jodhpur official statement.
The institute described how the probe operates, saying that a fluorescent chemical that particularly adheres to the amyloid plaque is injected, and the change in fluorescence characteristics is evaluated using the right detector. To reach the brain, the fluorescent molecule needs to be able to pass the blood-brain barrier in addition to being able to specifically and selectively connect to A aggregates. When it binds to A aggregates, it must also undergo a change in its fluorescent characteristics, including colour and intensity.
The fluorescent compounds that the IIT researchers have successfully created and produced can bind to A aggregates only. When unattached, all of these compounds were seen to emit a single colour of fluorescence, and as the fluorescence intensity increased, the emission colour moved towards red in the visible light spectrum (rainbow – violet indigo blue green yellow orange red).
One of the compounds could easily cross the blood-brain barrier and was stable in bodily fluids. In the presence of antagonistic biomolecules, it was likewise selective for A aggregates. As a result, the probe discovered by the study team will offer a non-invasive, low-cost, and accurate alternative to the spinal tap and PET Scan techniques of diagnosing Alzheimer’s. “Optical imaging systems that use fluorescent or color-based compounds to target tissues and molecules of interest are considered better diagnostic approaches in the biomedical sector,” said Surajit Ghosh, professor and dean of research and development at IIT Jodhpur, highlighting his findings.
