Psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases (ND) associated with malfunctions in the brain´s neurotransmitter metabolism put a burden on the society shoulders. Only the costs of dementia approach 1% of world's GDP (US $818 billion in 2015) from where approximately 40% are derived from non-medical services (e.g. social services, special accommodation or informal care). Even more shocking is that a large majority of people living with ND do not receive a formal diagnosis, meaning they do not have access to treatment, care and/or support.
A large number of these disorders (e.g. Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, schizophrenia, drug addiction, or psychosis) are correlated with abnormal fluctuations in the levels of dopamine (a small molecule neurotransmitter secreted by the neurons in the brain). Therefore, it is not surprising that dopamine occupies a central piece in the current neuroscience research, aiming to understand the mechanism of the disease development and early diagnosis.
The intrinsic electroactive nature of dopamine makes electrochemical methods very well suited for its monitoring. However, other co-existing molecules, such as nor/epinephrine, L-DOPA, catechol or ascorbic acid, provide signals in the range of potentials where dopamine is oxidized, thereby questioning the chemical selectivity of the measurements. The overall objective of this project was to develop electrochemical tools that ensure the specific measure of dopamine by this contributing to redefine the way dopaminergic diseases are monitored and treated.
