In this thesis the unique optical properties of fluorescent ligands termed luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes (LCOs) have been used to study a variety of protein aggregates associated with human protein misfolding disease. This heterogeneous group of diseases contains well known and fatal members such as Alzheimer´s and Huntington´s disease and the development of sensitive tools for the detection and characterization of protein aggregates is crucial for unravelling the complexity of these pathologies. Conventionally, the molecular dyes Congo red and thioflavin T (ThT) have been the primary choices for detecting and monitoring protein misfolding events. However, the rigid scaffold of both Congo red and ThT only offers an on or off mode and limits their ability to make fine distinctions at the molecular level. In contrast, LCOs have a flexible conjugated backbone and in addition to detect a broader subset of misfolded proteins, LCO can be used to visualize the heterogeneity of protein aggregates.

The work presented in this thesis has given novel insights regarding the close connection between LCO design and optical performance. By altering the backbone length and the arrangement of substituents as well as replacing thiophene units with moieties affecting conjugation length and conformational freedom, the structural requirements of an optimal LCO for a certain application have been revealed. LCOs having a pentameric thiophene backbone with carboxyl end-groups were able to i) cross the blood-brain barrier and selectively stain cerebral amyloid β (Aβ) plaques, ii) detect non-thioflavinophilic Aβ aggregates and non-congophilic prion aggregates, iii) spectrally discriminate Aβ from tau aggregates and iiii) strongly label protein inclusion bodies. However, in some applications this design was outdone by others and in general, the conjugation length and the level of conformational freedom of the backbone were important determinants of the performance of the LCO.

Overall, the findings in this thesis illustrate how small alterations in the LCO molecular scaffold may have large impact on the ligand properties. The results highlight the importance of having a toolbox of diverse ligands in order to increase our knowledge regarding the complex nature of protein aggregates.

Luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes (LCOs) represent a useful and interesting class of materials well known for their abilities as transducers for colorimetric and fluorometric reporting. Specifically, they have the ability to produce a conformation-dependent spectral signature reflective of changes in their local environment.  This physical property makes conjugated polymers an indispensible tool in the toolbox of fluorescent reporters used for distinguishing protein aggregates. Because fluorescence measurements provide a number of parameters for observing changes within a system (e.g., changes in intensity, wavelength, energy transfer, and emission lifetime), the coupling of such measurements with the unique fluorescence reporting capabilities of LCOs has been successful in a number of biological systems. The Nilsson group has demonstrated the use of both polydisperse and monodisperse conjugated polythiophenes for the purpose of amyloid protein aggregate detection both in vitro and ex vivo. My doctoral studies have included synthesis and the photophysical evaluation of pentameric substituted oligothiophenes for utilization as molecular probes for investigating the structure and conformation of amyloid protein aggregates. Through the synthesis of a library of pentameric probes with variations in side-chain substituents, we have studied the effects of pH, solvent, and viscosity on probe behavior and spectral shifts to elucidate the role of chemical structure on probe performance. Through a clearer understanding of the nature of LCOs and their individual chromic responses, we hope to provide researchers and clinicians additional tools for investigating and “bringing to light” the multifaceted nature of amyloids.

Luminescent conjugated polymers (LCPs) and luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes (LCOs) can be used as molecular probes to study diseases associated with protein aggregation. The conventionally used dyes to study and detect protein aggregates, denoted amyloid, have been Congo red (CR) and Thioflavin T (ThT). In contrast to these amyloid ligands, LCOs offer the possibility to detect aggregated proteinaceous species occurring at earlier stages of amyloid formation as well as to distinguish different morphotypes of protein aggregates. The interaction between the LCOs and the protein deposits can be studied by fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy both in vitro and ex vivo. In this thesis we report the development of multimodal asymmetric LCOs that can be utilized with two novel techniques, Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), to study the interaction between LCO and amyloid fibrils in real time. With SPR, we have been able to determine binding affinities between LCO and amyloid, and with PET we have shown that radiolabelled LCOs can be used as a non-invasive method to study amyloid deposits in vivo. In addition, by alteration of the backbone (change of thiophene units), and of adding different side chains functionalities, we have shown that the properties of the amyloid ligands have a huge impact of the binding to different stages or forms of protein aggregates. By making asymmetrical LCOs, which can be attached to a surface, we also foresee a methodology that will offer the possibility to create a sensitive and selective detection method, and maybe lead to a lab-on-a-chip-application.