Differential adhesion of amino acids to inorganic surfaces

A fundamental, yet underexplored, materials system is the interface between biological molecules and inorganic surfaces. In an elemental approach to this problem, we have systematically examined the adhesion of amino acids to a series of inorganic surfaces including metals, insulators, and semiconductors. Significant differential adhesion is observed over the full complement of amino acids, determined largely by amino acid side-chain charge. Extensive mapping of the amino acid adhesion versus materials in multiple solutions is presented, with preliminary mechanisms derived from concentration and pH dependence. These results provide an empirical basis for building peptide to inorganic surface structures, and, using this adhesion data, we design inorganic nanostructures that are shown to selectively bind to prescribed primary peptide sequences.