Di Shen, Wenhan Jin, Yulong Bai, Yanan Huang, Haochen Lyu, Lianggang Zeng, Mengdie Wang, Yuqi Tang, Wang Wan, Xuepeng Dong, Zhenming Gao, Hai-Long Piao, Xiaojing Liu, Yu Liu
Unlike amyloid aggregates, amorphous protein aggregates with no defined structures have been challenging to target and detect in a complex cellular milieu. In this study, we rationally designed sensors of amorphous protein aggregation from aggregation-induced-emission probes (AIEgens). Utilizing dicyanoisophorone as a model AIEgen scaffold, we first sensitized the fluorescence of AIEgens to a nonpolar and viscous environment mimicking the interior of amorphous aggregated proteins. We identified a generally applicable moiety (dimethylaminophenylene) for selective binding and fluorescence enhancement...
July 12, 2021: Angewandte Chemie