Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 12, 2025

Characterizing Individual Protein Aggregates by Infrared Nanospectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy
Published on: September 12, 2019
Biophysical Insight into Protein Folding, Aggregate Formation and its Inhibition Strategies
Syed Mohammad Zakariya1, Aiman Zehra2, Rizwan Hasan Khan1
1Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, UP, India.
Abstract:
The failure of protein to correctly fold into its functional and unique three dimensional form leads to misfolded or partially folded protein. When these rogue proteins and polypeptides escape the quality control mechanism within the body, they result in aberrant aggregation of proteins into characteristic amyloid fibrils. This is the main cause for the number of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. This review aims to summarise the underlying mechanisms of protein folding, misfolding and aggregation. It also highlights the recent technologies for the structural characterisation and detection of amyloid fibrils in addition to the various factors responsible for the aggregate formation and the strategies to combat the aggregation process. Besides, the journey from origin to the current scenario of protein aggregation is also concisely discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Protein Folding
Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological Function
Proteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...
Molecular Chaperones and Protein Folding
The...
Protein-protein Interfaces
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining,...
Protein Organization
The primary structure of a protein is its amino acid sequence....
Noncovalent Attractions in Biomolecules
Four types of noncovalent interactions are hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, ionic bonds, and hydrophobic interactions.
Hydrogen bonding results from the electrostatic attraction of a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to a strong-electronegative atom like oxygen,...

