abstract
Insulin amyloid fibrils with enhanced aspect ratio, were prepared using a timesaving microwave assisted (MW) methodology, reducing the incubation time from 13 to 2 h. The fibrillation process was followed indirectly by Thioflavin T Fluorescence and UV-vis analysis, by measuring the amount of beta-sheets formed and the insulin present in solution, respectively. TEM and AFM analysis revealed that the insulin fibrils obtained through the MW method, have very similar lengths but are much thinner than the ones obtained using the conventional method (CM). Additionally, it was verified that the nature of the peptides present in the final insulin fibrils was not affected by microwave irradiation. These morphological differences might reflect on noticeably enhanced mechanical and optical properties that can exploited on the development of advanced bionanomaterials. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
keywords
THIOFLAVIN T; PROTEIN; FIBRILLATION; POLYMORPHISM; AGGREGATION; MECHANISMS; MORPHOLOGY; NANOWIRES; TOXICITY
subject category
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Chemistry; Polymer Science
authors
Carvalho, T; Pinto, RJB; Martins, MA; Silvestre, AJD; Freire, CSR
our authors
Armando Jorge Domingues Silvestre
Full professor
Carmen Sofia da Rocha Freire Barros
Coordinating Researcher
Manuel António Martins da Silva
Researcher
Ricardo Pinto
Researcher
Tiago Carvalho
PhD Studentacknowledgements
This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (Ref. FCT UID/CTM/50011/2013) and the project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-041484 financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC. Ricardo J.B. Pinto and Manuel A. Martins thanks for the post doctorate grants SFRH/BPD/89982/2012 and SFRH/BPD/89563/2012, respectively. Carmen S.R. Freire also acknowledges FCT for a contract under the Program Investigador FCT 2012 (No. IF/01407/2012).