Quantum Dots As Ultrasensitive Nanoactuators and Sensors of Amyloid Aggregation in Live Cells

摘要

Quantum dots multifunctionalized with the amyloid protein a-synuclein act at nanomolar concentrations as very potent inducers of the aggregation of micromolar-millimolar bulk concentrations of the protein in vitro and in cells. Fibrillation in live cells, a process diagnostic of Parkinson's disease, is accelerated up to 15-fold with only ～100 nanoparticles. The combination with a tetracysteine-tagged form of a-synuclein specific for fluorogenic biarsenicals constitutes a very sensitive system for studying pathological amyloid formation in cells.