Visible-Light Microscopic Discovery of Up to 150 μm Long Helical Amyloid Fibrils Built of the Dodecapeptide H-(Val-Ala-Leu) -OH and of Decapeptides Derived from Insulin.

In the formation of amyloid fibrils from small peptides, the appearance of superhelices of (P)- or (M)-helicity has been observed for the first time; high concentrations of the peptides and extended periods of incubation at physiological pH appear to be important for this phenomenon. In view of the general importance of peptide and protein aggregation, we give a brief overview with selected examples for demonstration.