Biotin, also called Coenzyme R or Vitamin H, specifically and strongly binds to the proteins avidin and streptavidin and has been used to develop biosensors. The tri(ethylene glycol) linker increases the accessibility of biotin to fit into the binding pocket of the protein and it also minimizes non-specific protein adsorption (L. S. Jung, et al., Langmuir 2000, 16, 9421; M. Wilcheck & E. A. Bayer (Eds.), Meths. Enzymol. 1990, 184).

This biotinylated alkane thiol is a variant of biotin-terminated tetra(ethylene glycol) undecanethiol with a longer alkane chain and a slightly different PEG moiety. The behavior and applications are virtually the same (L. S. Jung, et al., Langmuir 2000, 16, 9421; K. E. Nelson, et al., Langmuir 2001, 17, 2807).