CRANAD-2

CRANAD-2 is a difluoroboron-derivatized curcumins as near-infrared probe for in vivo detection of amyloid-beta deposits. Upon interacting with Abeta aggregates, CRANAD-2 undergoes a range of changes, which include a 70-fold fluorescence intensity increase, a 90 nm blue shift (from 805 to 715 nm), and a large increase in quantum yield. Moreover, this probe also shows a high affinity for Abeta aggregates (K(d) = 38.0 nM), a reasonable log P value (log P = 3), considerable stability in serum, and a weak interaction with albumin. After intravenous injection of this probe, 19-month-old Tg2576 mice exhibited significantly higher relative signal than that of the control mice over the same period of time.