Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 26, 2026

Peptide-based Identification of Functional Motifs and their Binding Partners
Published on: June 30, 2013
Metal-recognition by repeating polypeptides
1Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. stanley@biobase.dk
Abstract:
Attachment of proteins to metal surfaces has the potential to improve our understanding of protein adhesion and has applications in sensor technology. Repeating polypeptides able to bind to metallic gold or chromium were selected from a population of approximately 5 million different polypeptides. Each polypeptide contained several direct repeats of identical peptide units 14 or 28 amino acids long. The metal-recognizing polypeptides were found to retain their binding properties when freed from the protein used to select them. One gold-binding polypeptide's avidity for gold was found to be dependent on the number of repeats and the presence of salt.
Related Concept Videos
Signal Sequences and Sorting Receptors
Directing Proteins to the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
Protein Organization
The primary structure of a protein is its amino acid sequence.
Peptide Identification Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry
This technique helps gather information regarding the protein from which the peptide was obtained and to study the peptides’ amino acid sequence. Identifying peptides from a complex mixture is an important component of the growing field of...
Transducer Mechanism: Enzyme-Linked Receptors
Major types that are helpful drug targets include:
Diversity of Antigen Receptors
Before encountering any antigen, lymphocytes express these receptors. On B cells, the antigen receptor is a membrane-bound antibody molecule called BCR; on T cells, it is a T cell receptor or TCR. B and T cell receptors are composed of two...

