Infrared spectroscopy is used to investigate the transformation of carboxyl-terminated alkyl

chains immobilized on a surface into succinimidyl ester-terminated chains by reaction with

an aqueous solution of N-ethyl-N-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)carbodiimide (EDC) and Nhydroxysuccinimide (NHS). The acid chains are covalently grafted at the surface of
hydrogenated porous silicon whose large specific surface area allows for assessing the
activation yield in a semiquantitative way by infrared (IR) spectroscopy and detecting trace
amounts of surface products and/or reaction products of small IR cross section. In this way,
we rationalize the different reaction paths and optimize the reaction conditions to obtain as
pure as possible succinimidyl ester-terminated surfaces. A diagram mapping the surface
composition after activation was constructed by systematically varying the solution
composition. Results are accounted for by NHS surface adsorption and a kinetic
competition between the various EDC-induced surface reactions.

Aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA (ssDNA or ssRNA) molecules that can bind to preselected targets including proteins and peptides with high affinity and specificity. These
molecules can assume a variety of shapes due to their propensity to form helices and singlestranded loops, explaining their versatility in binding to diverse targets. They are used as
sensors, and therapeutic tools, and to regulate cellular processes, as well as to guide drugs to
their specific cellular targets. Contrary to the actual genetic material, their specificity and
characteristics are not directly determined by their primary sequence, but instead by their
tertiary structure.