resumo
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.
palavras-chave
THIOFLAVIN T; PROTEIN; FIBRILLATION; POLYMORPHISM; AGGREGATION; MECHANISMS; MORPHOLOGY; NANOWIRES; TOXICITY
categoria
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Chemistry; Polymer Science
autores
Carvalho, T; Pinto, RJB; Martins, MA; Silvestre, AJD; Freire, CSR
nossos autores
Armando Jorge Domingues Silvestre
Professor Catedrático
Carmen Sofia da Rocha Freire Barros
Investigador Coordenador
Manuel António Martins da Silva
Investigador
Ricardo Pinto
Investigador
Tiago Carvalho
Estudante de doutoramentoagradecimentos
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).