Spectroscopic investigation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor for application in medical diagnosis

Native vesicles containing the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) prepared from the electric organ of the ray Torpedo marmorata were used to obtain fluorescence signals in dependence of different concentrations of the local anesthetics procaine. Nonlinear concentration dependent spectral changes are found using ethidium bromide as a fluorescence marker. Structural changes are found for the proteins including the nAChR in the vesicles during immobilization onto surfaces such as IR transparent germanium (Ge) crystal, Ge crystal coated with silver (Ag) cluster to use the SEIRA effect and/or crystals covered with a lipid subphase. A comparison between Ge and Ge coated with Ag (Ge/Ag) clusters reveals increased structural changes in the spectral regions around 1670 cm^-1 (amide I band envelope, β-sheet/turns) upon adsorption of the vesicles on the latter surface. Is the Ge/Ag crystal precoated with a lipid subphase an almost similar spectral contour for the amide I band envelope as in the spectra recorded on a neat Ge crystal is found.