Electrochemical Detection of Amyloid-Beta Aggregation in the Presence of Resveratrol

Abstract

The aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) is an important pathologic feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that leads to the formation of neuronal plaques. A rapidly growing number of polyphenols have been intensively investigated for AD treatment. In this report, the interaction of a polyphenolic compound, resveratrol, with Aβ was studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The growth of Aβ fibrils was facilitated with the incubation of oligomer-modified electrodes with free Aβ in solution. Resveratrol significantly slowed down the formation of Aβ aggregates, which was monitored by following the changes in the charge transfer resistance (Rct) values. The moderating effect of resveratrol on Aβ aggregation was also confirmed with Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence assay and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging. Results obtained from EIS correlated well with the ThT fluorescence assay and suggested that EIS was a promising method for the analysis of Aβ aggregation in the presence of novel Aβ-targeting compounds toward AD therapy.