The Fluorescent Amino Acid p‐Cyanophenylalanine Provides an Intrinsic Probe of Amyloid Formation

Subtle ways: Analogues of amyloid-forming polypeptides have been developed by using p-cyanophenylalanine as a sensitive, noninvasive, intrinsic probe of amyloid formation. p-Cyanophenylalanine (see figure) is a very conservative substitution for phenylalanine or tyrosine, and its fluorescence is incredibly sensitive to the environment; these facets make it a powerful probe of amyloid formation.