Detecting amyloid-beta aggregation with fiber-based fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Biophys J. 2007 Apr 1;92(7):L55-7. doi: 10.1529/biophysj.106.101485. Epub 2007 Jan 19.

Abstract

Soluble aggregates critically influence the chemical and biological aspects of amyloid protein aggregation, but their population is difficult to measure, especially in vivo. We take an optical fiber-based fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) approach to characterize a solution of aggregating amyloid-beta molecules. We find that this technique can easily resolve aggregate particles of size 100 nm or greater in vitro, and the size distribution of these particles agrees well with that obtained by conventional FCS techniques. We propose fiber FCS as a tool for studying aggregation in vivo.

Publication types

  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / chemistry*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / ultrastructure*
  • Crystallization / methods*
  • Dimerization
  • Fiber Optic Technology / instrumentation*
  • Multiprotein Complexes / chemistry
  • Multiprotein Complexes / ultrastructure
  • Optical Fibers
  • Protein Conformation
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence / instrumentation*
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence / methods*

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Multiprotein Complexes