Patent ID: 7923230

Claim:
A method for diminishing the presence of a protein aggregate in an in vitro environment that includes said protein aggregate and an aggregation diminishing protein, said method comprising: a. introducing into said environment a compound having the structure: R1—L-R2 wherein R 1 is a first domain which binds to said protein aggregate and wherein R 1 is Congo red; L is a single bond or a linking group of about 1 to 12 atoms in length; R 2 is a second domain which binds to said aggregation diminishing protein and wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of SLF, FK506, rapamycin, and ascomycin; and wherein said aggregation diminishing protein is an enzyme or heat shock protein; and b. incubating said compound in said environment for a period of time and temperature sufficient to diminish therein the presence of the protein aggregate.