title: Quantum dots as ultrasensitive nanoactuators and sensors of amyloid aggregation in live cells.
abstract: Quantum dots multifunctionalized with the amyloid protein alpha-synuclein act at nanomolar concentrations as very potent inducers of the aggregation of micromolar-millimolar bulk concentrations of the protein in vitro and in cells. Fibrillation in live cells, a process diagnostic of Parkinson's disease, is accelerated up to 15-fold with only approximately 100 nanoparticles. The combination with a tetracysteine-tagged form of alpha-synuclein specific for fluorogenic biarsenicals constitutes a very sensitive system for studying pathological amyloid formation in cells.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CIHIDECAR, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: M Julia
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Roberti
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Menéndez
authors.forename: Lía I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Pietrasanta
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Jovin
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Jares-Erijman
mesh_terms: D000682:Amyloid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D045663:Quantum Dots; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000682:Amyloid; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D051844:alpha-Synuclein