Abstract Carboxylic acid derivatives of the amyloid-binding dye Congo red do not enter the brain well and are thus unable to serve as in vivo amyloid-imaging agents. A neutral amyloid probe,(E, E)-1-(3′, 4′-dihydroxystyryl)-4-(3′-methoxy-4′-hydroxystyryl) benzene (3), devoid of any carboxylate groups has been designed and synthesized via a 12-step reaction sequence with a total yield of 30%. The unsymmetric compound 3 has also been labelled ...