Figure 1. Schematic illustration of the process to screen selective peptide receptors for VOCs.

(a), Schematic of the graphitic surface and the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of phenyl-terminated alkanethiols (PTA) on an Au surface that were used as target surfaces for screening peptides toward benzene. (b), Schematic showing the selective binding of M13 phage to SAM of PTA via fusion peptide-displayed body surface (p8). (c), The amino acid sequences for the identified peptides. p3 is the minor coat protein at the tip and p8 is the major coat protein of M13 phage. GP and BP stand for graphitic surface-binding peptide and benzene-SAM binding peptide, respectively. (d), Binding test results of the identified peptides against the phenyl-functionalized SAM. The higher plaque forming unit (pfu) indicates a stronger binding affinity²⁶.