Amyloid aggregation and fungal infection, especially amyloid beta (A β ) peptide and Candida albicans are considered as two of the crucial pathogenic agents in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this work, we propose an innovative treatment strategy for AD, targeting at not only A β aggregation but also Candida albicans infection. Here, a high-performance nanomaterial, namely gCDs-E, have been prepared by self-assembled of glycosylated carbon dots (gCDs) and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). Surprisingly, gCDs-E can not only suppress the fibrillation of A β and disaggregate A β fibrils, but also effectively inhibit the activity of Candida albicans . More importantly, the prepared gCDs-E can effectively cut down the cytotoxicity of amyloid aggregations, and the cell viability reached to 99.2%. In addition, the capability of the gCDs-E for blood brain barrier (BBB) penetration was also observed using a normal mice model. Above all, the gCDs-E greatly cleaned A β deposition and improved memory impairment in APP/PS1 transgenic AD model mice, confirming its potential as therapeutic agent for AD treatment.

Amyloid aggregation, microbial infection, and the blood−brain barrier (BBB) are considered critical obstructions for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). At present, existing treatment strategies are rarely able to overcome these critical factors. Herein, we propose an innovative treatment strategy and design multifunctional nanoassemblies (yCDs-Ce6) from coassembling photosensitizers (chlorine e6) and yellow fluorescent carbon dots, which endow yCDs-Ce6 with the functions for photodynamic and photothermal therapy (PDT and PTT). Compared with reported inhibitors, yCDs-Ce6 can suppress amyloid aggregation for 7 days, disaggregate aggregates, reduce amyloid aggregation-induced cytotoxicity, and prevent microbial growth by PDT and PTT. Moreover, yCDs-Ce6 can specifically target amyloid aggregates and visually label amyloid aggregates. yCDs-Ce6 can also cross the BBB upon near-infrared light irradiation and clear amyloid deposition in APP/PS1 mice by PDT and PTT. Meanwhile, yCDs-Ce6 did not cause significant negative effects on normal cells or tissues. Based on the methods of PPT and PTT treatment, the research deeply explores the effect of the novel nanoassemblies on two hypotheses of AD, opening a novel therapeutic paradigm for research amyloid-related diseases.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease that brings enormous economic pressure to families and society. The research found that inhibiting abnormal aggregation of Aβ and accelerating the dissociation...

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