Synthetic nanomaterial inhibitors against amyloid protein aggregation and toxicity

Amyloid diseases refer to a group of protein misfolding diseases that entail morbidity to millions of people globally. These diseases are characterised by a common phenomenon where proteins aggregate into amyloid plaques or tangles in the extracellular or intracellular space of impaired cells and tissues inciting inflammation and cell degeneration. My thesis has been an arduous and yet satisfying journey in revealing the biophysical characteristics of amyloidosis in simple and complex biological fluids and in creating through chemical synthesis novel bio-nano composites as potent inhibitors against the aggregation and toxicity of amyloid-beta, alpha synuclein and amylin, the amyloidogenic proteins/peptides associated with the three primary forms of amyloid diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and type 2 diabetes, respectively.