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Protein Nanotechnology pp 103–117Cite as

Amyloid Fibrils from Readily Available Sources: Milk Casein and Lens Crystallin Proteins

Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB,volume 996)

Abstract

Amyloid fibrils are a highly ordered and robust aggregated form of protein structure in which the protein components are arranged in long fibrillar arrays comprised of β-sheet. Because of these properties, along with their biocompatibility, amyloid fibrils have attracted much research attention as bionanomaterials, for example as template structures (in some cases following modification) that can be used as biosensors, encapsulators, and biomimetic materials. To use amyloid fibrils for such a range of applications will require them to be obtained relatively easily in large quantities. In this chapter, we describe methods for isolating crystallin and casein proteins from readily available sources that contain abundant protein, i.e., the eye lens and milk, respectively, and the subsequent conversion of these proteins into amyloid fibrils.

Key words

  • Crystallins
  • Small heat-shock proteins
  • Caseins
  • Amyloid fibrils
  • Bionanomaterials
  • Lens proteins
  • Milk proteins
  • Protein aggregation

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Australian Research Council and Dairy Australia (DA). D.T. was supported by a postgraduate scholarship from DA and M.G. was supported by a postgraduate scholarship from Crop and Food Research New Zealand funded by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

    Heath Ecroyd

  2. Max Planck Research Unit for Enzymology of Protein Folding, Halle (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

    Megan Garvey

  3. School of Chemistry & Physics, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia

    Megan Garvey, David C. Thorn & John A. Carver

  4. Biomolecular Interaction Centre and School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Riddet Institute, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Juliet A. Gerrard

  5. Callaghan Innovation Research Limited, Lower Hutt, New Zealand

    Juliet A. Gerrard

Authors
  1. Heath Ecroyd
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  2. Megan Garvey
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  3. David C. Thorn
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  4. Juliet A. Gerrard
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  5. John A. Carver
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Canterbury, Kirkwood Avenue 20, Christchurch, 8041, New Zealand

    Juliet A. Gerrard

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Ecroyd, H., Garvey, M., Thorn, D.C., Gerrard, J.A., Carver, J.A. (2013). Amyloid Fibrils from Readily Available Sources: Milk Casein and Lens Crystallin Proteins. In: Gerrard, J. (eds) Protein Nanotechnology. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 996. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-354-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-354-1_6

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-353-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-354-1

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