Electrochemical immobilization of biomolecules on gold surface modified with monolayered l-cysteine

Immobilization of organic molecules on the top of a metal surface is not easy because of lattice mismatch between organic and metal crystals. Gold atoms bind to thiol groups through strong chemical bonds, and a self-assembled monolayer of sulfur-terminated organic molecules is formed on the gold surface. Herein, we suggested that a monolayer of l-cysteine deposited on a gold surface can act as a buffer layer to immobilize biomolecules on the metal surface. We selected lactic acid as the immobilized biomolecule because it is one of the simplest carboxyl-containing biomolecules. The immobilization of lactic acid on the metal surface was carried out by an electrochemical method in an aqueous environment under the potential range varying from − 0.6 to + 0.8 V. The surface chemical states before and after the electrochemical reaction were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The N 1s and C 1s XPS spectra showed that the l-cysteine-modified gold surface can immobilize lactic acid via peptide bonds. This technique might enable the immobilization of large organic molecules and biomolecules.