Research Projects

Oxidative stress is a significant factor in the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease (PD). Disruptions in the redox potential in neurons interfere with biological processes, including ROS generation, leading to cell death. Mitochondria, acting as both sources and targets of ROS, play a critical role in the pathogenesis of PD. H2O2, a stable member of the ROS family, is a potential analytical marker for various pathological and physiological processes. Low concentrations of mitochondrial H2O2 play pivotal roles in cell growth, survival, energy synthesis, and oxidative stress markers in aging. Excessive production leads to inflammation and oxidative stress, causing various diseases like diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's syndrome, Huntington's, and cardiovascular diseases. Monitoring H2O2 levels is essential to establish the disease state and find a suitable non-invasive method for selective detection and quantification in the nM to ?M range. Several analytical techniques, such as electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), spectrophotometry, fluorometry, and electrometry, are available for H2O2 detection. Fluorometry is considered the most popular due to its highly selective, sensitive, and noninvasive benefits, as well as real-time high-resolution imaging of intra- and extracellular H2O. A project aimed at synthesizing twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) based water-soluble Red/NIR emissive organic probes for H2O2 recognition with bioimaging applications in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease is being pursued.