Detecting Alzheimer’s in blood

Empa researcher Peter Nirmalraj wants to capture images of Alzheimer's peptides with unprecedented precision. This could allow new insights into the molecular pathogenesis of the neurodegenerative disease - and perhaps open the way to new therapies. In the beginning, physicist Peter Nirmalraj wanted to gain deeper insights into the process of Alzheimer's disease in order to provide medical research with a basis for possible early diagnostics and new therapies. One step further would be to decipher the role of amyloid beta peptides and tau proteins, which are associated with the neurodegenerative disease. However, if one approaches the tiny peptide structures with a microscope, the view into the molecular universe becomes distorted all too easily. "An imaging technique must not alter the original state of the peptides, otherwise valuable information on their characteristic properties will be lost" Nirmalraj says. That's why the Empa scientist searched for a technique that left the peptides pristine.