Study of-amyloid adsorption and aggregation on graphite by STM and AFM

摘要

The scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and the atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been applied to the direct study of the adsorption and aggregation of -amyloid(1-42)(A42) on the hydrophobic graphite surface. It was found that A42 were preferentially adsorbed on graphite defects such as the edges. A42 peptides self-assembled into intermediate protofibrils, which in turn self-associated to form fibrils. Usually, two or more fibrils intertwined to form the helical structure. These results will provide an important clue to studying the aggregation proc-ess of -amyloid.