Differential Modulating Effect of MoS₂ on Amyloid Peptide Assemblies

Abstract

The abnormal fibrillogenesis of amyloid peptides such as amyloid fibril and senior amyloid plaques, is associated with the pathogenesis of many amyloid diseases. Hence, modulation of amyloid assemblies is related to the possible pathogenesis of some diseases. Some two-dimensional nanomaterials, that is, graphene oxide, tungsten disulfide, exhibit strong modulation effects on the amyloid fibrillogenesis. Herein, the modulation effect of molybdenum disulfide on two amyloid peptide assemblies based on the label-free techniques is presented, including quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), AFM, and CD spectroscopy. MoS₂ presents different modulating effects on the assembly of amyloid-β peptide (33-42) [Aβ (33-42)] and amylin (20-29), mainly owing to the distinct affinity between amyloid peptides and MoS₂ . This is to our knowledge the first report of MoS₂ as a modulator for amyloid aggregation. It enriches the variety of 2D nanomodulators of amyloid fibrillogenesis and explains the mechanism for the self-assembly of amyloid peptides, and expands the applications of MoS₂ in biology.