Phototherapy: Using Graphene Oxide High Near‐Infrared Absorbance for Photothermal Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease (Adv. Mater. 13/2012)

Inhibition of Aβ aggregation has shown promising against Alzheimer's disease in clinical trials. X. Qu and co-workers report a novel strategy on page 1722 which can dissociate amyloid aggregation using local heat generated by a clinically used amyloid-staining, dye-modified graphene oxide (GO) under NIR laser irradiation. With its high NIR absorbance, good biocompatibility, and its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, the newly synthesized GO can efficiently dissociate Aβ fibrils, protect cells against Aβ-related toxicity, and be monitored in real time.