Adsorption, diffusion, and self-assembly of an engineered gold-binding peptide on Au(111) investigated by atomic force microscopy

Go for the gold! The structural evolution of peptide binding and assembly on a Au(111) surface is dynamic and involves surface diffusion and multiple stages of molecular thin-film topology development (see schematic depiction and corresponding AFM images). The new fundamental observations may form the basis of peptide-based novel hybrid molecular technologies of the future.