Time-lapse atomic force microscopy in the characterization of amyloid-like fibril assembly and oligomeric intermediates

Abstract

The atomic force microscope (AFM) images the topography of biological structures adsorbed to surfaces with nanometer to angstrom scale resolution. Amyloid-like fibrils and oligomers can be imaged in buffer solutions, allowing the samples to retain physiological-like properties while temporal changes in structure are monitored, e.g., the elongation of fibrils or the growth of single oligomers. These qualities distinguish AFM from conventional imaging techniques of comparable resolution, i.e., electron microscopy (EM). However, AFM is limited in that the specimen must be firmly attached to a solid support for measurement and that time-lapse imaging of individual assemblies can thus only be achieved for fibrils and oligomers growing on this support. Nevertheless, AFM has provided several insights into the in vitro assembly mechanism and structures of amyloid-like fibrils. The first section of this chapter provides a methodological introduction to AFM, whilst the second details the application of this technique to the investigation of amyloidogenic proteins, specifically amylin and amyloid-β(Aβ) peptides.