Other New Findings!

Silvia Hilt, a graduate student in our group, has just collected these beautiful high-resolution images of neurons (individual brain cells) that have been transformed to overproduce the toxic Alzheimer's peptide (Aß). Both the cell on the left and the cell on the right have been stained with FSB, which gives off the green glow when bound to large aggregates of the Aß peptide. However, the cell on the right has also been treated with our SLF compound. The dramatic reduction in the green FSB signal indicates that SLF binding to Aß changes the staining properties of Aß. This shows how our SLF targets the Aß peptide.

While these measurements where made inside of a neuron, our MRI imaging efforts will focus on detecting high levels of Aß in the extracellular fluid of the brain (the CSF). This is where Aß accumulates and also provides a chemical environment that maintains the spin-label in its paramagnetic state.