title: Facile methodology for monitoring amyloid-β fibrillization.
abstract: Amyloid-β (Aβ) is a peptide fragment that is prone to aggregate into large fibrils under physiological conditions. Many techniques have been developed to quickly monitor the transition from a primarily monomeric peptide into fibrils. Here we propose a novel method for both incubating and monitoring changes in Aβ aggregation by using modified NMR tubes, a microtube thermoshaker, and a fluorescence or UV-vis spectrometer. These NMR tubes are thin and cylindrical, which allows efficient heat transfer and orbital shaking. Our results demonstrate that our technique is both reliable and expedient when tracking Aβ fibrillization using fluorescence or turbidity assays, which presents an alternative for laboratories without specialized equipment for incubating peptide.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Department of Bioengineering, and Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice University, 6100 South Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Nathan P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Angel A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Martí
mesh_terms: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000295:instrumentation; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D010446:Peptide Fragments