Decoration of amyloid fibrils with luminescent conjugated polymers

In this work we report the coating of a biological template with a polar, but uncharged, luminescent conjugated polymer, soluble in organic solvents but not in water, to produce a nanowire. Amyloid fibrils from bovine insulin were decorated with an alternating polyfluorene derivative. Decorated fibrils were partially aligned on hydrophobic surfaces as separate and bundled fibrils, by means of molecular combing. The single molecule spectroscopy technique utilizing excitation by rotating linearly polarized light and fluorescence detection through a rotating polarizer showed a high degree of anisotropy of the polymer chains on the individual fibrils. The high degree of polarization indicated highly oriented polymer chains with the preferential orientation of the polymer backbone along the fibrils. The anisotropy ratios are comparable with those of well-oriented polymer chains in films.