A new visualization method of insulin amyloid fibril has been presented via conventional scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which can be applied to confirm the fibril formation and any effect of additives. We have demonstrated that native insulin amyloid fibrils can be imaged without any metal coating on the silicon substrate and were attributed to the attenuation effect upon the collected secondary electrons. The conventional SEM observations consistently showed distinct morphologies of the fibrils under the effects of three different molecules (citrulline, ectoin, and trehalose) and well coincident with atomic force microscopic (AFM) data. In spite of negative result for trehalose‐treated samples with conventional thioflavin T (Th‐T) assay, thin and long fibrils were thoroughly observed and it revealed a complementary capability of the present strategy. In addition, direct sampling of amyloid fibrils on silicon chips for SEM observations substantially expedites the sampling and searching efforts, thereby shedding a new light on inhibitor screening approach for diverse amyloid fibrillation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.