Peptide immobilisation on porous silicon surface for metal ions detection

In this work, a Glycyl-Histidyl-Glycyl-Histidine (GlyHisGlyHis) peptide is covalently anchored to the porous silicon PSi surface using a multi-step reaction scheme compatible with the mild conditions required for preserving the probe activity. In a first step, alkene precursors are grafted onto the hydrogenated PSi surface using the hydrosilylation route, allowing for the formation of a carboxyl-terminated monolayer which is activated by reaction with N-hydroxysuccinimide in the presence of a peptide-coupling carbodiimide N-ethyl-N'-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide and subsequently reacted with the amino linker of the peptide to form a covalent amide bond. Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are used to investigate the different steps of functionalization. The property of peptides to form stable complexes with metal ions is exploited to achieve metal-ion recognition by the peptide-modified PSi-based biosensor. An electrochemical study of the GlyHisGlyHis-modified PSi electrode is achieved in the presence of copper ions. The recorded cyclic voltammograms show a quasi-irreversible process corresponding to the Cu(II)/Cu(I) couple. The kinetic factors (the heterogeneous rate constant and the transfer coefficient) and the stability constant of the complex formed on the porous silicon surface are determined. These results demonstrate the potential role of peptides grafted on porous silicon in developing strategies for simple and fast detection of metal ions in solution.