Table of Contents

Section I Biophotonics to investigate tryptophan and its metabolites
1. The physics of key biophotonic techniques
2. Tryptophan analysis using multiphoton microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging
3. Deep-ultraviolet microscopy for tryptophan label-free imaging in cells and tissue
4. Tryptophan as a biomarker using terahertz spectroscopy

Section II Tryptophan in diseases
5. The role of tryptophan in Chagas disease and other trypanosomatid infections
6. Tryptophan fluorescence for early evaluation of cataracts
7. Tryptophan, after inflammatory cytokine stimulation, determines plaque vulnerability and risk of myocardial infarction
8. Tryptophan and metabolites (serotonin and kynurenines) in posttraumatic stress disorder
9. Effects of tryptophan metabolism on the brain: From early development to Alzheimer’s disease
10. Excess activity of 3-hydroxykynurenine, quinolinic acid, and other toxic tryptophan metabolites in neurogenerative diseases and other protein misfolding diseases
11. Tryptophan and kynurenine levels in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Section III Current applications: Biophotonics to study the role of tryptophan in diseases
12. Fluorescence-based techniques using plasma: A unique biomarker for different cancers
13. Synchronous luminescence spectroscopy of tryptophan in head and neck cancer
14. Tryptophan fluorescence for diagnosis and staging of gastrointestinal cancers

Section IV The future: New directions in biophotonics and the study of tryptophan and disease
15. Tryptophan fluorescence and machine learning to study the aggressiveness of prostate cancer cell lines: A pilot study
16. The principles of machine learning algorithms: Applications to biophotonics and disease

About the Author

Laura A. Sordillo, MS, MPhil, PhD, is a research assistant professor at The Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers in the physics and electrical engineering departments at The City College of the City University of New York, USA. Her interdisciplinary research involves the development of novel short wavelength infrared techniques for deep tissue imaging of the brain, the application of optical spectroscopy for the assessment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, as well as of cancer, and the study of ultrafast optical processes in photosynthetic systems. She is the recipient of the Kaylie Entrepreneur Award, the MSKCC-CCNY Graduate Research Award, the 2016-2017 Grove School of Engineering Graduate Fellowship, the 2017-2018 Corning Inc. PhD Fellowship Award and the 2018-2019 Corning Inc. PhD Fellowship Award. She has published more than 60 papers and holds 13 patents. Peter P. Sordillo, M.D., PhD is a physician and cancer researcher whose specialty is the treatment of extremely rare cancers. In addition to his M.D., he holds three graduate degrees in philosophy (causality) (Columbia University), and a graduate degree in physics (NYU). He is Vice-President and Chief Scientific Officer at SignPath Pharma Inc., a biotechnology company; Attending Physician in Medical Oncology, Hematology and Internal Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City; and research consultant at The Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers, Physics Department, The City College of the City University of New York, USA. He has published more than 190 papers and holds 15 patents.