Volkova K. Cyanine dyes as fluorescence probes for fibrillar alpha-synuclein detection

Object - interactions between cyanine dyes and amyloid fibrils of alpha-synuclein. Goal - to develop novel fluorescent probes on the base of cyanine dyes for specific detection of fibrillar alpha-synuclein and to study structure of dye/amyloid fibril complex. Methods - fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy, time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, fluorescence polarization spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, AM1 semiempirical method. Results and their novelty - for the first time cyanine dyes were proposed as fluorescent probes for specific detection of fibrillar beta-lactoglobulin and alpha-synuclein in vitro. The structural fragments incorporation of which into the cyanine dye molecule could increase dyes 'sensitivity' to the fibrillar alpha-synuclein were determined. For the first time the model of cyanine dye/fibril complex was proposed. It was shown, that cyanine dyes could be used for the quantitative detection of fibrillar proteins during their aggregation process in vitro.