Interplay between Confinement and Drag Forces Determine the Fate of Amyloid Fibrils

Abstract

The fine interplay between the simultaneous stretching and confinement of amyloid fibrils is probed by combining a microcapillary setup with atomic force microscopy. Single-molecule statistics reveal how the stretching of fibrils changed from force to confinement dominated at different length scales. System order, however, is solely ruled by confinement. Coarse-grained simulations support the results and display the potential to tailor system properties by tuning the two effects. These findings may further help shed light on in vivo amyloid fibril growth and transport in highly confined environments such as blood vessels.