[Irreversible chemical AFM-fishing for the detection of low-copied proteins]

The atomic-force microscopy-based method of irreversible chemical AFM-fishing (AFM-IF(Ch)) has been developed for the detection of proteins at ultra-low concentrations in solution. Using this method, a very low concentration of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) protein (10(-17) M) was detected in solution. A theoretical model that allows the description of obtained experimental data, is proposed. This model takes into consideration both the transport of the protein from the bulk solution onto the AFM-chip surface and its irreversible binding to the activated area.