Anti-amyloidogenic activity of glutathione-covered gold nanoparticles

This study is an investigation of the effect of biocompatible glutathione-covered gold nanoparticles (AuSG-7) with an average size of 3 nm on the amyloid fibrils of hen egg-white lysozyme. The anti-amyloid activity of AuSG-7 nanoparticles on this protein was monitored with thioflavin T assay, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The study found that AuSG-7 nanoparticles in vitro depolymerize the amyloid aggregates and inhibit lysozyme aggregate formation. The ability to inhibit amyloid formation and promote amyloid disassembly has concentration-dependent characteristics: the concentration of nanoparticles at which inhibition is half maximal (IC 50) was found to be 6.19 μg/mL, and the concentration at which depolymerization is half maximal (DC 50) was found to be 8.26 μg/mL. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.