Recent Advances in Fluorescent Theranostics for Alzheimer's Disease: A Comprehensive Survey on Design, Synthesis, and Properties.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of neurodegenerative dementia that is rapidly becoming a major health problem, especially in developed countries because of their increasing life expectancy. Two main problems are often associated with the disease: (i) the absence of a widely accessible "gold-standard" for early diagnosis and (ii) lack of effective therapies with disease-modifying effects. The recent success of the monoclonal antibody lecanemab played an important role not only in clarifying a possible druggable pathway but also in spelling the revival of small molecule drug discovery. Unlike bulky biologics, small molecules are structurally less complex, generally cheaper, and compatible with at-home oral consumption, making it feasible for people to start their drug regimen early and stay on it longer. In this sense, small-molecule near-infrared fluorescent theranostics have been gaining more and more attention from the scientific community, as they have the potential to simultaneously provide diagnostic outputs and deliver therapeutic action, paving the way toward personalized medicine in AD patients. They also have the potential to shift the diagnostic "status-quo" from expensive and limited-access PET radiotracers toward inexpensive and handy imaging tools widely available for primary patient screening and preclinical animal studies. Herein, we review the most recent advances in the field of fluorescent theranostics for Alzheimer's disease, detailing their design strategies, synthetic approaches and imaging and therapeutic properties in vitro and in vivo. With this Review, we intend to provide a milestone in the acquired knowledge in the field of AD theranostics, encouraging the future development of properly designed theranostic compounds with improved chances to reach clinical applications.

Understanding the molecular interactions between a yeast protein extract and phenolic compounds.

Phenolic compounds are partially removed during fining, which may influence the organoleptic properties of beverages. Among phenolic compounds, tannins have been widely associated to the taste of beverages (namely astringency and bitterness). Furthermore, phenolic acids and anthocyanins may also influence bitterness and the latter are also responsible for beverages' color. Thus, it is necessary to perform molecular studies to better understand the effect of fining agents in the overall phenolic composition of beverages and the resulting organoleptic changes. The molecular interactions between these three classes of phenolic compounds and a yeast protein extract (YPE), designed as a new fining agent, was studied. The binding affinities were assessed by fluorescence quenching at two temperatures (21 °C and 37 °C) and in two reaction media (water and wine model solution). The size of aggregates formed was characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering and the selectivity of protein interaction was analyzed by electrophoresis. Overall, pentagalloylglucoside (tannin) showed the highest binding affinity for YPE, followed by malvidin 3-glucoside (anthocyanin), p-coumaric acid (phenolic acid) and gallic acid (phenolic acid). The studied temperatures and solvents affected the interaction affinities as well as the aggregates' size. Binding selectivity of proteins from YPE was not found. These results open new perspectives to control the fining process by using the YPE as a fining agent taking into account the further effect in the organoleptic properties of beverages.

Silver nanoparticles uptake by salt marsh plants - Implications for phytoremediation processes and effects in microbial community dynamics.

This study investigated the uptake of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by a salt marsh plant, Phragmites australis, as well as AgNPs effects on rhizospheric microbial community, evaluating the implications for phytoremediation processes. Experiments were carried out with elutriate solution doped with Ag, either in ionic form or in NP form. Metal uptake was evaluated in plant tissues, elutriate solutions and sediments (by AAS) and microbial community was characterized in terms of bacterial community structure (evaluated by ARISA). Results showed Ag accumulation but only in plant belowground tissues and only in the absence of rhizosediment, the presence of sediment reducing Ag availability. But in plant roots Ag accumulation was higher when Ag was in NP form. Multivariate analysis of ARISA profiles showed significant effect of the absence/presence of Ag either in ionic or NP form on microbial community structure, although without significant differences among bacterial richness and diversity. Overall, P. australis can be useful for phytoremediation of medium contaminated with Ag, including with AgNPs. However, the presence of Ag in either forms affected the microbial community structure, which may cause disturbances in ecosystems function and compromise phytoremediation processes. Such considerations need to be address regarding environmental management strategies applied to the very important estuarine areas. CAPSULE: The form in which the metal was added affected metal uptake by Phragmites australis and rhizosediment microbial community structure, which can affect phytoremediation.