Protein-Affinity of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Water

Yi Lin, Lawrence F. Allard, Ya Ping Sun

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

171 Scopus citations

Abstract

The interactions of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with ferritin protein in water were investigated. It was found that SWNTs are naturally protein-affinitive in an aqueous ferritin solution, resulting in significant ferritin-SWNT conjugation and the solubilization of the nanotubes. The conjugation is further enhanced and stabilized in the presence of a coupling agent for amidation to promote the formation of covalent linkages. The natural protein-affinity of SWNTs may be alleviated or even eliminated by the functionalization of the nanotubes with hydrophilic polymers or better with oligomeric poly(ethylene glycol) moieties.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3760-3764
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry B
Volume108
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 25 2004

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