Biophotonics, Tryptophan and Disease

Biophotonics, Tryptophan and Disease is a comprehensive resource on the key role of tryptophan in wide range of diseases as seen by using optics techniques. It explores the use of fluorescence spectroscopy, Raman, imaging techniques and time-resolved spectroscopy in normal and diseased tissues and shows the reader how light techniques (i.e. spectroscopy and imaging) can be used to detect, distinguish and evaluate diseases. Diseases covered include cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and other age-related diseases.

Biophotonics, Tryptophan and Disease offers a clear presentation of techniques and integrates material from different disciplines into one resource. It is a valuable reference for students and interdisciplinary researchers working on the interface between biochemistry and molecular biology, translational medicine, and biophotonics.

• Shows the key role of tryptophan in diseases
• Emphasizes how optical techniques can be potent means of assessing many diseases
• Points to new ways of understanding autism, aging, depression, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases

Contenu

Section I Biophotonics to investigate tryptophan and its metabolites 1. The physics of key biophotonic techniques 2. Tryptophan analysis using multiphoton microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging 3. Deep-ultraviolet microscopy for tryptophan label-free imaging in cells and tissue 4. Tryptophan as a biomarker using terahertz spectroscopy

Section II Tryptophan in diseases 5. The role of tryptophan in Chagas disease and other trypanosomatid infections 6. Tryptophan fluorescence for early evaluation of cataracts 7. Tryptophan, after inflammatory cytokine stimulation, determines plaque vulnerability and risk of myocardial infarction 8. Tryptophan and metabolites (serotonin and kynurenines) in posttraumatic stress disorder 9. Effects of tryptophan metabolism on the brain: From early development to Alzheimer's disease 10. Excess activity of 3-hydroxykynurenine, quinolinic acid, and other toxic tryptophan metabolites in neurogenerative diseases and other protein misfolding diseases 11. Tryptophan and kynurenine levels in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Section III Current applications: Biophotonics to study the role of tryptophan in diseases 12. Fluorescence-based techniques using plasma: A unique biomarker for different cancers 13. Synchronous luminescence spectroscopy of tryptophan in head and neck cancer 14. Tryptophan fluorescence for diagnosis and staging of gastrointestinal cancers

Section IV The future: New directions in biophotonics and the study of tryptophan and disease 15. Tryptophan fluorescence and machine learning to study the aggressiveness of prostate cancer cell lines: A pilot study 16. The principles of machine learning algorithms: Applications to biophotonics and disease