Thioflavin T forms a non-fluorescent complex with alpha-helical poly-L-glutamic acid

Thioflavin T (ThT) is a molecular-rotor-type fluorophore reputed for the selective binding to amyloid fibrils. Using induced circular dichroism, here we show that ThT binds in an orderly manner to alpha-helical poly-L-glutamic acid (PLGA) implying that neither stacked beta-sheets nor pi-pi stacking interactions are necessary for the binding between the dye and proteins.