Raman spectroscopic evaluation of protein modification: a new, non-invasive diagnostic tool for age-related eye disease

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Rapid, non-invasive evaluation of robust markers of disease progression in the eyes of aging patients would provide a novel and exciting basis for recognising risk of visual loss and perhaps also link to other age-related diseases such as cataract formation and glaucoma. The proposed project builds on knowledge from the scientific literature, strong international collaboration and key preliminary findings. It will seek to establish a firm basis for using confocal Raman microscopy and spectroscopic evaluation of patients to study chemical modifications called advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) in the eye. The approach is multidisciplinary and represents collaboration between vision scientists, physical chemists, ophthalmologists and optometrists. Together, this unusual team can offer a unique perspective on a pressing research problem. The project will ascertain age-related risk in a patient-based evaluation of AGE-mediated Raman spectra in ocular tissues. With appropriate identification, quantification and validation of AGE moieties in the eye and their correlation with age-mediated pathophysiology, Raman spectra could ultimately form an important, non-invasive diagnostic tool for AMD and other age-associated ocular defects.