An infrared spectroscopy approach to follow β-sheet formation in peptide amyloid assemblies

The Solution Assembly of Biological Molecules Using Ion Mobility Methods: From Amino Acids to Amyloid β-Protein

Ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) methods are increasingly used to study noncovalent assemblies of peptides and proteins. This review focuses on the noncovalent self-assembly of amino acids and peptides, systems at the heart of the amyloid process that play a central role in a number of devastating diseases. Three different systems are discussed in detail: the 42-residue peptide amyloid-β42 implicated in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease, several amyloid-forming peptides with 6-11 residues, and the assembly of individual amino acids. We also discuss from a more fundamental perspective the processes that determine how quickly proteins and their assemblies denature when the analyte ion has been stripped of its solvent in an IMS-MS measurement and how to soften the measurement so that biologically meaningful data can be recorded.

Multiscale simulations for understanding the evolution and mechanism of hierarchical peptide self-assembly

Multiscale molecular simulations that combine and systematically link several hierarchies can provide insights into the evolution and dynamics of hierarchical peptide self-assembly from the molecular level to the mesoscale.