β‐Cyclodextrin interacts with the Alzheimer amyloid β‐A4 peptide

Electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry has been used to show that the synthetic 40 amino acid beta-amyloid peptide (beta 1-40) interacts with the cyclic oligosaccharide beta-cyclodextrin. This interaction, presumably with the hydrophobic aromatic moieties on the peptide, has been shown to diminish substantially the neurotoxic effects of beta 1-40 in a cell line.