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Review
. 2019 Feb 27;5(2):209-217.
doi: 10.1021/acscentsci.8b00951. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Frontiers in Probing Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers with Fluorescent Small Molecules

Yong Woong Jun  1 , Seo Won Cho  1 , Junyang Jung  2 , Youngbuhm Huh  2 , YoungSoo Kim  3 , Dokyoung Kim  2   2   2 , Kyo Han Ahn  1
Affiliations
Free PMC article
Review

Frontiers in Probing Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers with Fluorescent Small Molecules

Yong Woong Jun et al. ACS Cent Sci. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. The pathogenesis of the disease is associated with aggregated amyloid-β, hyperphosphorylated tau, a high level of metal ions, abnormal enzyme activities, and reactive astrocytes. This outlook gives an overview of fluorescent small molecules targeting AD biomarkers for ex vivo and in vivo imaging. These chemical imaging probes are categorized based on the potential biomarkers, and their pros and cons are discussed. Guidelines for designing new sensing strategies as well as the desirable properties to be pursued for AD fluorescence imaging are also provided.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and its relevance in the pathogenesis of the disease. (a) Amyloid-β proteins, (b) neurofibrillary tangles, (c) metal ions (Cu(II), Zn(II), Fe(II/III)), (d) γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and (e) monoamine oxidases.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sensing strategies of AD biomarkers. Development of probes for (a) amyloid-β plaques, (b) neurofibrillary tangles, (c) metal ions (Cu(II), Zn(II), and Fe(II/III)), (d) monoamine oxidases, and (e) astrocytes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Two-photon probes for detecting AD biomarkers. (a) Illustration of two-photon absorption, pulsed laser and focal point excitation. (b) Illustration of the distribution of amyloid-β plaques in the brain. (c–h) Two-photon amyloid-β probes: (c) 2E10, STB-8, PiB, (d) benzothizole 4, (e) NIRFs, Aβ probe 5, (f) SAD-1, (g) CRANADs, and (h) QAD-1. (i) A two-photon dual probe for MAOs and amyloid-β plaques.
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