Method to discriminate amyloids using fluorescent probes

The aggregation of misfolded proteins into amyloids is a common characteristic of many neurodegenerative and non-neurologic diseases. Fluorescent amyloid-targeting probes that discriminate amyloids based on differences in protein composition can provide rapid information to aid in disease diagnosis. In this chapter, we present protocols for the synthesis and use of ANCA-11 as an environmentally-sensitive amyloid-targeting probe that can fluorescently discriminate between amyloids with different disease origin. We also present a protocol for preparing amyloid samples of synthetic Amyloid-β(1-42), as problems with amyloid preparations can be a large driver of time and cost for research. The methods presented here can be generalized for evaluation of other amyloid-targeting fluorescent probes with different aggregates of amyloidogenic proteins in solution or in tissue.