Publication
Title
Detection of amyloid fibrils in Parkinson's disease using plasmonic chirality
Author
Abstract
Amyloid fibrils, which are closely associated with various neurodegenerative diseases, are the final products in many protein aggregation pathways. The identification of fibrils at low concentration is, therefore, pivotal in disease diagnosis and development of therapeutic strategies. We report a methodology for the specific identification of amyloid fibrils using chiroptical effects in plasmonic nanoparticles. The formation of amyloid fibrils based on α-synuclein was probed using gold nanorods, which showed no apparent interaction with monomeric proteins but effective adsorption onto fibril structures via noncovalent interactions. The amyloid structure drives a helical nanorod arrangement, resulting in intense optical activity at the surface plasmon resonance wavelengths. This sensing technique was successfully applied to human brain homogenates of patients affected by Parkinsons disease, wherein protein fibrils related to the disease were identified through chiral signals from Au nanorods in the visible and near IR, whereas healthy brain samples did not exhibit any meaningful optical activity. The technique was additionally extended to the specific detection of infectious amyloids formed by prion proteins, thereby confirming the wide potential of the technique. The intense chiral response driven by strong dipolar coupling in helical Au nanorod arrangements allowed us to detect amyloid fibrils down to nanomolar concentrations.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - Washington, D.C.
Publication
Washington, D.C. : 2018
ISSN
0027-8424 [Print]
1091-6490 [Online]
DOI
10.1073/PNAS.1721690115
Volume/pages
115 :13 (2018) , p. 3225-3230
ISI
000428382400032
Pubmed ID
29531058
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Colouring Atoms in 3 Dimensions (COLOURATOM).
PRONANO: Protein-based functional nanostructures
European infrastructure for spectroscopy, scattering and imaging of soft matteer (EUSMI).
CINMAB: Chiral Plasmons in Protein-Nanoparticle Hybrid Materials for Application as Biosensors
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 17.04.2018
Last edited 09.10.2023
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