Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Engineering Adherent Bacteria by Creating a Single Synthetic Curli Operon
Published on: November 16, 2012
The Congo red derivative FSB binds to curli amyloid fibers and specifically stains curliated E. coli
Courtney Reichhardt1, Lynette Cegelski1
1Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America.
Abstract:
The Congo red derivative (E,E)-1-fluoro-2,5-bis(3-hydroxycarbonyl-4-hydroxy) styrylbenzene (FSB) specifically stains the functional amyloid curli in Escherichia coli biofilms. FSB binds to curli with similar affinity as Congo red, yet exhibits much greater fluorescence upon binding to curli as compared to Congo red and does not exhibit undesired binding to the cellulosic component of the biofilm. Thus, FSB presents a powerful tool to identify and visualize curli in E. coli biofilms and also enables new biophysical investigations of curli.
More Related Videos
10:10Use of Two Dimensional Semi-denaturing Detergent Agarose Gel Electrophoresis to Confirm Size Heterogeneity of Amyloid or Amyloid-like Fibers
Published on: April 26, 2018
09:43Purification and Refolding to Amyloid Fibrils of His6-tagged Recombinant Shadoo Protein Expressed as Inclusion Bodies in E. coli
Published on: December 19, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining,...
Amyloid Fibrils
Classification of Skeletal Muscle Fibers
Slow-Twitch Muscle Fibers
Slow oxidative, muscle fibers appear red due to large numbers of capillaries and high levels of...
The Equilibrium Binding Constant and Binding Strength
Red Algae
Ligand Binding Sites
Protein-ligand interactions are quite specific; even though numerous potential ligands surround a cellular protein at any given time, only a particular ligand can bind to that protein. Moreover, a ligand binds only to a dedicated area on the surface of the protein, known as the...