Evaluation of molecules based on the electron donor–acceptor architecture as near-infrared β-amyloidal-targeting probes

A novel class of near-infrared molecules based on the donor-acceptor architecture were synthesized and evaluated as Aβ imaging probes. In vivo imaging studies suggested that MCAAD-3 could penetrate the blood-brain barrier and label Aβ plaques in the brains of transgenic mice. Computational studies could reproduce the experimental trends well.