Charge transport and intrinsic fluorescence in amyloid-like fibrils

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Nov 13;104(46):18019-24. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0702843104. Epub 2007 Nov 5.

Abstract

The self-assembly of polypeptides into stable, conductive, and intrinsically fluorescent biomolecular nanowires is reported. We have studied the morphology and electrical conduction of fibrils made of an elastin-related polypeptide, poly(ValGlyGlyLeuGly). These amyloid-like nanofibrils, with a diameter ranging from 20 to 250 nm, result from self-assembly in aqueous solution at neutral pH. Their morphological properties and conductivity have been investigated by atomic force microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and two-terminal transport experiments at the micro- and nanoscales. We demonstrate that the nanofibrils can sustain significant electrical conduction in the solid state at ambient conditions and have remarkable stability. We also show intrinsic blue-green fluorescence of the nanofibrils by confocal microscopy analyses. These results indicate that direct (label-free) excitation can be used to investigate the aggregation state or the polymorphism of amyloid-like fibrils (and possibly of other proteinaceous material) and open up interesting perspectives for the use of peptide-based nanowire structures, with tunable physical and chemical properties, for a wide range of nanobiotechnological and bioelectronic applications.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Amyloid / metabolism*
  • Microscopy / methods
  • Nanowires
  • Oligopeptides / chemistry
  • Oligopeptides / metabolism
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence

Substances

  • Amyloid
  • Oligopeptides