Localized surface plasmon resonance interfaces coated with poly[3-(pyrrolyl)carboxylic acid] for histidine-tagged peptide sensing.

The paper reports on a novel localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) substrate architecture for the immobilization and detection of histidine-tagged peptides. The LSPR interface consists of an ITO (indium tin oxide) substrate coated with gold nanostructures. The latter are obtained by thermal deposition of a thin (2 nm thick) gold film followed by post-annealing at 500 °C. The LSPR interface was coated with poly[3-(pyrrolyl)carboxylic acid] thin films using electrochemical means. The ability of the LSPR interfaces coated with poly[3-(pyrrolyl)carboxylic acid] to chelate copper ions was investigated. Once loaded with metal ions, the modified LSPR interface was able to bind specifically to histidine-tagged peptides. The binding process was followed using LSPR.