The Au-doped magnetic silica nanotube (
Au-MSNT) was fabricated by sol−gel transcription and its binding ability for proteins was carried out by TEM, FT-IR, and confocal microscope. The nickel nanoparticles with 3.5
1.0 nm are homogeneously deposited on the inner side of a silica nanotube (
SNT) with 220 nm diameter. In addition, the
Au-MSNT clearly revealed the Au nanoparticles with 9.3
2.0 nm diameter. The
Au-MSNT carried out the binding ability for protein as a guest molecule. The
Au-MSNT acted as a receptor for the selective molecular recognition of biomolecules, particularly proteins containing cysteine. On the other hand, ubiquitin, which has no cysteine groups, was not immobilized onto the
Au-MSNT. These results indicate that the
Au-MSNT is efficiently recognized by the cysteine-containing protein.