Phage Display Biopanning Strategy for Discovery of Nanoparticle-Binding Peptides

The phage display technology allows to select peptides, exposed on the surface of bacteriophage virions, which can specifically bind to virtually any materials, including proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and other organic macromolecules, as well as metals or metal oxides. In this chapter, we describe and discuss procedures for effective selection of peptides characterized with affinity to metallic or metal oxide nanoparticles. The use of a peptide library displayed on virions of the M13 bacteriophage, the most commonly used phage display system, is presented. Specific notes indicate what are crucial steps in the procedure, what should be avoided and why, and what should be done if common problems appear. The scheme of the biopanning process, the crucial step in selecting specific peptides, which bind to nanoparticles composed of metals or metal oxides, is presented and discussed.