Colorimetric detection of mutant β-amyloid(1-40) membrane-active aggregation with biosensing vesicles

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a protein misfolding disease commonly characterized by neuritic amyloid plaques and proteinaceous fibrillar aggregate deposits composed of β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregates. The dynamic aggregation of Aβ forms toxic, nanoscale aggregate species which proceed from oligomers to fibrils. Currently, there is need for rapid and direct detection of Aβ peptide aggregation and interaction with lipid membranes, as detecting an interaction with various lipid environments will provide insights to better understand how interactions may modulate membrane function on cellular surfaces, leading to the progression of AD. The goal of this study was to utilize a colorimetric, biomimetic, vesicle-binding assay as a biosensor to detect and investigate the occurrence of neurodegenerative disease-associated protein aggregation and interaction with lipid membranes. Lipid/polydiacetylene (PDA) vesicles were exposed to monomeric preparations of Wild Type Aβ(1–40) or point mutations in Aβ with amino acid substi...