Affiliations: [a] Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiayi University, Chiayi City, Taiwan
| [b] Department of Health Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Pathology and Nanobioimaging, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Chia-Chi Huang, Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiayi University, No.300 Syuefu Rd.,Chiayi City 60004, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 5 2717967; Fax: +886 5 2717901; E-mail: chiachihuang@mail.ncyu.edu.tw and Ciro Isidoro, Department of Health Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Pathology and Nanobioimaging, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Via P. Solaroli 17, 28100 Novara, Italy. Tel.: +39 0321660507; Fax: +39 0321620421; E-mail: ciro.isidoro@med.uniupo.it.
Abstract: The continuous increasing rate of patients suffering of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) worldwide requires the adoption of novel techniques for non-invasive early diagnosis and monitoring of the disease. Here we review the various Raman spectroscopic techniques, including Fourier Transform-Raman spectroscopy, surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy, coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering spectroscopy, and confocal Raman microspectroscopy, that could be used for the diagnosis of AD. These techniques have shown the potential to detect AD biomarkers, such as the amyloid-β peptide and the tau protein, or the neurotransmitters involved in the disease (e.g., Glutamate and γ-Aminobutyric acid), or the typical structural alterations in specific brain areas. The possibility to detect the specific biomarkers in liquid biopsies and to obtain high resolution 3D microscope images of the affected area make the Raman spectroscopy a valuable ally in the early diagnosis and monitoring of AD.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid-β peptide, brain tissue, diagnosis, Raman spectroscopy, tau protein
