title: Dielectrophoretic manipulation and solubility of protein nanofibrils formed from crude crystallins.
abstract: Protein nanofibrils and nanotubes are now widely accepted as having potential for use in the field of bionanotechnology. For this to be a feasible alternative to existing technologies, there is a need for a commercially viable source. Previous work has identified amyloid fibrils formed from crude crystallin proteins as such a source, since these fibrils can be produced in large quantities at a low cost. Applications include use of fibrils as templates for the formation of nanowires or as biosensing scaffolds. There remains a number of practical considerations, such as stability and the ability to control their arrangement. In this study, crude crystallin amyloid fibrils are shown to be stable in a range of biological and clean room solvents, with the fibril presence confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and the thioflavin T fluorescent assay. The fibrils were also immobilised between microelectrodes using dielectrophoresis, which enabled the recording of I-V curves for small numbers of fibrils. This investigation showed the fibrils to have low conductivity, with current values in the range of 10(-10) A recorded. This low conductivity could be increased through modification, or alternately, the fibrils could be used unmodified for applications where they can act as templates or high surface area nanoscaffolds.
authors: Biomolecular Interaction Centre and School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Domigan
authors: Karsten B
authors: KB
authors: Andersen
authors: Luigi
authors: L
authors: Sasso
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Dimaki
authors: Winnie E
authors: WE
authors: Svendsen
authors: Juliet A
authors: JA
authors: Gerrard
authors: Jaime
authors: J
authors: Castillo-León
mesh_terms: D000682:Amyloid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D003459:Crystallins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004586:Electrophoresis / Q000379:methods*; D048388:Gadiformes; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000737:chemistry; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D055550:Protein Stability; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D000682:Amyloid; D003459:Crystallins