A spectroscopic study of 2-[4'-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-benzothiazole binding to insulin amyloid fibrils

The spectroscopic properties of 2-[4'-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-benzothiazole (BTA-2) in solution and in the presence of amyloid fibrils were investigated using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. Solution studies show that BTA-2 forms micelles in aqueous solutions, but that the dye can be solvated upon the addition of acetonitrile (CH(3)CN). BTA-2 binds to amyloid fibrils in solution leading to a characteristic blue-shift in the emission spectrum and an increase in fluorescence intensity. However, in solutions with increasing CH(3)CN concentration, there was a marked decrease in binding of the BTA-2 to fibrils. Studies demonstrating the effect of BTA-2 concentration on binding were performed. A comparison with the standard amyloid fluorescent marker, thioflavin T (ThT), showed that BTA-2 is more fluorescent, making it an excellent dye to label amyloid samples.