Metal oxide nanoparticles are potentially attractive tools for biomedical applications such as bioimaging and drug delivery. This urges experimental studies of their surface interaction with biomolecules, in the first hand, amino acids and proteins. Especially intriguing is the effect of not only shape and size but of chemical nature of the particles on the nature of bonds emerging between them and biomolecules. In present study we isolated, structurally characterized and compared complexes with model molecules glycylglycine and arginine of spherically shaped Keggin POMs [PM 12 O 40 ] 3-, M = Mo, W as models for individual nanoparticles ca. 1 nm in size. Surpris- [a]