Date of Graduation
Spring 2025
Degree
Master of Science in Chemistry
Department
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Committee Chair
Tuhina Banerjee
Abstract
The development of various neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease has been linked to the fibrillation of various proteins within the brain. Parkinson’s disease is specifically linked to the fibrillation of α-Synuclein. During the fibrillation process, the proteins take the form of oligomers, and exposure to these oligomers has been linked to various cytotoxic and neurotoxic effects. Once the fibrillation process is complete, the fibrils made have been shown to be much less toxic than the oligomer stage. This fibrillation process is thermodynamically favorable and is largely irreversible, so one course of action for treatment of these disease is to limit exposure to protein oligomers that have been linked to various diseases. This can be done by either preventing the fibrillation process or by accelerating it to limit exposure to the oligomer stage of the protein. Gold nanoparticles show promise for affecting this fibrillation process. This investigation looks into the effect of surface density of polyethylene glycol coated gold nanoparticles on the fibrillation of insulin as a model protein for α-Synuclein, in hopes of establishing a link between acceleratory and inhibitory fibrillation patterns and different physical properties of the nanoparticles.
Keywords
gold nanoparticles, polyethylene glycol, brush conformation, surface density, α-Synuclein, oligomers, fibrillation, insulin, Thioflavin T assay
Subject Categories
Analytical Chemistry | Biochemistry
Copyright
© Ethan Patrick Grier
Recommended Citation
Grier, Ethan Patrick, "The Effect of Polyethylene Glycol Surface Density of Dense Brush Gold Nanoparticles on Insulin Fibrillation" (2025). Graduate Theses/Dissertations. 4047.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/4047
