title: Continuous colorimetric assay for acetylcholinesterase and inhibitor screening with gold nanoparticles.
abstract: We report herein a new colorimetric assay method for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and its inhibitor screening by making use of the following facts: (1) the aggregation of gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) results in the red-shift of the plasmon absorption due to interparticle plasmon interactions and (2) AChE can catalyze the hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine into thiocholine which can induce the aggregation of Au-NPs. With this convenient method, the activity of AChE with a concentration as low as 0.6 mU/mL can be assayed. Moreover, this assay method is also useful for screening inhibitors of AChE. Given its simplicity and easy-operation, this method may extend to high-throughput screening of AChE inhibitors and relevant drug discovery.
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Organic Solids Laboratory, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xinggui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Guanxin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Deqing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Daoben
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D003124:Colorimetry / Q000379:methods*; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D015394:Molecular Structure
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D006046:Gold; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase