Thioflavin
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Thioflavin can refer to either of two dyes used for histology staining.
Thioflavin T (Basic Yellow 1 or CI 49005) is a benzothiazole salt obtained by the methylation of dehydrothiotoluidine with methanol in the presence of hydrochloric acid. The dye is used to visualize plaques composed of amyloid beta found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients. When it binds to beta sheets, such as those in amyloid oligomers, the dye undergoes a characteristic 120 nm red shift of its excitation spectrum that may be selectively excited at 450 nm, resulting in a fluorescence signal at 482 nm.
Thioflavin S is a mixture of compounds that results from the methylation of dehydrothiotoluidine with sulfonic acid. It is also used to stain Alzheimer's plaques.
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