University of Twente Student Theses
Towards the quantification of alpha-synuclein fibrils by combining seed amplification assays and single particle counting
Berg, P.M. van den (2025) Towards the quantification of alpha-synuclein fibrils by combining seed amplification assays and single particle counting.
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| Abstract: | Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder without a cure and without adequate means of diagnosis. It is expected to affect 14 million people worldwide by 2040, which is more than a quadruplication since 1990. Diagnosis is currently based on symptoms, but biomarker detection might allow for earlier and more accurate diagnosis. This master’s assignment has been a step in the development of a method to quantitatively detect αS fibrils – the protein aggregates that characterize Parkinson’s disease. The novel method combines two existing techniques: the sensitive but non-quantitative method of seeded aggregation assay (SAA) and single particle counting (SPC). The SAA amplifies the number of αS fibrils, and SPC quantifies single fibrils. Measuring the αS fibril increase over time yields a doubling time, which can be used to find the αS fibril amount in original patient sample. This would not only allow for quantitative diagnosis, but also the monitoring of disease progression which supports treatment development. An SPC setup in which αS fibrils can be counted during an SAA was successfully constructed and tested. Various parameters were investigated for optimization, such as the αS fibril concentration, the mechanical sonication of αS fibrils, and type of fluorescent dye staining the αS fibrils. This project has not established a definitive functioning method, but has advanced its development. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | TNW: Science and Technology |
| Subject: | 33 physics, 42 biology |
| Programme: | Biomedical Engineering MSc (66226) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/106309 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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