jo pansieri

Innovative nanoparticles for early imaging diagnosis of amyloidosis Amyloidosis' diseases remain a considerable clinical challenge due to their numerous existing forms and involvement in different organs and tissues; they are often misdiagnosed or diagnosed very late. The aim of this project is to set up the proof of concept of a new approach for the early diagnosis of amyloidosis and for potential therapeutic applications. It is based on the functionalization of multimodal nanoparticles combining selective binding to amyloid fibrils (in vitro or in vivo) and detection by highly sensible and quantitative imaging techniques. Potential therapeutic applications will be also tested on the blockage of fibers elongation and/or using potent radiosensibilisation of nanoparticles to disrupt the amyloid fibers. Although this project is focused on islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), which is associated with type-II diabetes, the final objective is to extract a general concept for targeting amyloidosis.