Aminonaphthalene 2-cyanoacrylate (ANCA) probes fluorescently discriminate between amyloid-β and prion plaques in brain

Kevin Cao, Mona Farahi, Marianna Dakanali, Willy M. Chang, Christina J. Sigurdson, Emmanuel A. Theodorakis, Jerry Yang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

80 Scopus citations

Abstract

A major challenge for diagnosing and monitoring the progression of amyloid-based diseases is the capability to distinguish between amyloid deposits that are associated with related, but distinctly different, diseases. Here, we demonstrate that aminonaphthalenyl 2-cyanoacrylate-based probes can fluorescently discriminate between different types of amyloid deposits in brain. The discriminating capability of these molecular rotors is due to the stabilization of the ground versus excited states of these probes as a function of the polarity of their microenvironment (i.e., within the binding pocket on the amyloid). This property makes it possible, for the first time, to estimate the inherent static relative permittivity (ε0) of the binding pocket of each amyloid within tissue. The capability to selectively follow the deposition of specific amyloids in tissue may provide important information for therapeutic development that is not readily accessible from currently available technology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)17338-17341
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume134
Issue number42
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 24 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • General Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

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