The monolayer character of two-dimensional materials predestines them for application as active layers of sensors. However, their inherent high sensitivity is always accompanied by a low selectivity. Chemical functionalization of two-dimensional materials has emerged as a promising way to overcome the selectivity issues. Here, we demonstrate efficient graphene functionalization with carbohydrate ligands-chitooligomers, which bind proteins of the lectin family with high selectivity. Successful grafting of a chitooligomer library was thoroughly characterized, and glycan binding to wheat germ agglutinin was studied by a series of methods. The results demonstrate that the protein quaternary structure remains intact after binding to the functionalized graphene, and that the lectin can be liberated from the surface by the addition of a binding competitor. The chemoenzymatic assay with a horseradish peroxidase conjugate also confirmed the intact catalytic properties of the enzyme. The present approach thus paves the way towards graphene-based sensors for carbohydrate-lectin binding.

Department of Health Care Disciplines and Population Protection Faculty of Biomedical Engineering Czech Technical University Prague Nám Sítná 3105 272 01 Kladno Czech Republic

Department of Organic Chemistry Faculty of Chemical Technology University of Chemistry and Technology Prague Technická 5 166 28 Prague Czech Republic

Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences Vídeňská 1083 142 20 Prague Czech Republic

Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Flemingovo Náměstí 542 2 166 10 Praha Czech Republic

J Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Dolejškova 2155 3 182 23 Prague Czech Republic

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