How Strong Is the Coordination Bond between a Histidine Tag and Ni – Nitrilotriacetate? An Experiment of Mechanochemistry on Single Molecules

Abstract

Isolation of a His-tagged protein by means of a Ni - nitrilotriacetate-functionalized chromatographic matrix or biosensor was simulated in a single-molecule experiment, and the mechanochemistry-that is, the interplay between mechanical and chemical forces (shown schematically)-was studied with a scanning force microscope.