Gold nanoparticles as a label-free probe for the detection of amyloidogenic protein.

Because amyloidogenic proteins, such as prion protein, β-amyloid peptide and α-synuclein, are associated with a variety of diseases, methods for their detection are important. Recombinant prion protein (rPrP) can selectively induce aggregation of dihydrolipoic acid capped gold nanoparticles (DHLA-AuNPs), which reduces the absorbance of the DHLA-AuNPs and changes their color from red to blue. These changes were used for label-free qualitative and quantitative detection of amyloidogenic protein. The addition of NaCl improved the detection sensitivity considerably, and the detection limit was as low as 33 pmol/L.