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Updated: May 31, 2026

Characterization of pH-Dependent Reversible Self-Assembly of Amyloid Beta 1-40-Coated Gold Colloids
Published on: March 21, 2025
The dynamic nature of amyloid beta (1-40) aggregation
Alik Belitzky1, Naomi Melamed-Book, Aryeh Weiss
1The Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra, Givat Ram Campus, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel.
Abstract:
In this paper, we characterize the dynamic nature of the full amyloid beta (1-40) (Aβ (1-40)) aggregates. We labeled the peptide with either 5-carboxytetramethylrhodamine (TAMRA) or with fluorescein-isothiocyanate (FITC). The labeled peptides were mixed after separate fibrillization, and the dynamic changes in the structure of the fibrils were imaged using confocal microscopy. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements showed that the Aβ (1-40) peptides detach from and reattach to the fibrils in a biologically relevant timescale (days). With time, the two peptides mix at the molecular level. This process is concentration dependent and occurs primarily in the external parts of the aggregates with a half time between 4 and 7 days. This study shows that the combination of confocal microscopy and FRET analysis is a facile method for studying dynamic processes in supra-molecular aggregates.
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