Acceleration of amyloid fibril formation by multichannel sonochemical reactor

Abstract

Formation of amyloid fibrils of various amyloidogenic proteins is dramatically enhanced by ultrasound irradiation. For applying this phenomenon to the study of protein aggregation science and diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, a multichannel ultrasound irradiation system with individually adjustable ultrasound-irradiation conditions is necessary. Here, we develop a sonochemical reaction system, where an ultrasonic transducer is placed in each well of a 96-well microplate to perform ultrasonic irradiation of sample solutions under various conditions with high reproducibility, and applied it for studying amyloid-fibril formation of amyloid $\beta$, $\alpha$-synuclein, $\beta$2-microglobulin, and lysozyme. The results clearly show that our instrument is superior to conventional shaking method in terms of degree of acceleration and reproducibility of fibril formation reaction. The acceleration degree is controllable by controlling the driving voltage applied to each transducer. We have thus succeeded in developing a useful tool for the study of amyloid fibril formation in various proteins.

Theoretical analysis and experimental verification of spatial coherence of acoustic cavitation noise from bubble clusters under ultrasonic horn

“…Acoustic cavitation bubbles generated by intense ultrasound in water radiate secondary ultrasound called acoustic cavitation noise owing to their volumetric oscillation. [1][2][3][4][5] In sonochemistry, which is concerned with understanding the chemical effects associated with acoustic cavitation phenomena, [6][7][8][9][10][11] acoustic cavitation noise has been attracting attention as a method for monitoring acoustic cavitation conditions, and numerous research findings have been reported. [12][13][14][15][16][17] However, reports on the explicit use of acoustic cavitation noise other than monitoring are limited.…”

Characterization as measurement sound source of acoustic cavitation noise from bubble clusters under ultrasonic horn

“…[4][5][6] Therefore, numerous attempts have been made to apply this phenomenon to various applications. [7][8][9][10][11][12] The radiation of shockwaves due to vibration, one of the mechanical effects of bubbles, results in acoustic emission called acoustic cavitation noise. The acoustic cavitation noise frequency spectrum reflects the bubbles' vibration state.…”