Single peptide assembly onto a 1.5 nm Au surface via a histidine tag

Nanoparticle surfaces functionalized with proteins or other biomolecules provide a mechanism for interfacing the unique properties of nanomaterials with biological samples. In most of these studies, the biomolecule is conjugated to a gold nanoparticles (AuNP) surface through the thiol group of native or introduced cysteine residues. Here we demonstrate the direct attachment of a hexa-histidine tagged (His(6)) peptide to a 1.5 nm AuNP. Binding occurs via a specific interaction between the Ne of the His imidazole, forming a 1:1 stoichiometric complex. Given the widespread use of histidine tags in producing recombinant proteins, this approach promises to expand the applications of AuNP in biological applications.