Researchers have a developed a new system to detect Alzheimer's by using ruthenium.

The lab of Rice University bioengineer Angel Marti is examining how metallic molecules based on the platinum group metal naturally attach themselves to a collection of beta amyloid proteins called fibrils, which form plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's sufferers.

When the molecules latch onto these fibrils, their photoluminescence increases fifty times, found the study, which was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The technique is an improvement on current methods that use Thioflavin T dyes, as there is a bigger window to spot the luminescence.

Lead author of the paper Nathan Cook said: "The exciting part of this experiment is that traditional probes primarily measure fluorescence in two dimensions: intensity and wavelength.

"We have demonstrated that we can add a third dimension - time - to enhance the resolution of a fluorescent assay."

His goal is to one day be able to treat Alzheimer's by combining the ruthenium complex's ability to target fibrils and other molecules' potential to dissolve them in the brain.

Source:

Molecules 'light up' Alzheimer's roots (13/07/11) 

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