Functional monolayer surfaces on gold nanoparticles for specific binding of histidine-tagged proteins

Functionalised gold nanoparticles, capable of specifically binding histidine-tagged proteins, are of interest as their unique optical properties can facilitate the study of protein-protein interactions. Citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles were functionalised with surface capping agents to specifically bind histidine-tagged proteins, and to test the stability of the nanoparticle solutions under various conditions.