Protein microarray using α-amino acids as metal tags on chips

Procedures for synthesizing α-amino acids on a chip for coordination with transitional metal ions and a His-Tagged protein have been successfully developed as a stable protein microarray. Using the recombinant His-Tagged 3CL-protease (3CL(pro)) as a model for attachment to chips containing d-/l-Glu, Asp, Orn, Ser via different transitional metal ions, it was found that the Orn chip was the best of affinity binding and stability by which Zn(2+) was the best metal ion for affinity while Co(2+) was the best metal ion for stability. Thus, this protein microarray can be alternatively used as a high throughput screening method for rapid detection against SARS CoV 3CL(pro) and/or efficient purification of other Tagged proteins.