Carbon Nanotube functionalisation and their application in medical field

6 April 2007

Carbon nanotubes can be used in a variety of applications including sensing applications for medical diagnosis by adding different functional group. Both types of covalent and non-covalent attachments of carbon nanotubes have been prepared. Various covalent attachments on single wall nanotubes such as carboxylic acids, ester, amines, enzymes, alkylation, fluorination, thiols and proteins have successfully been made. Multi wall carbon nanotubes having covalent attachments of carboxylic acid has been synthesized.

In a similar way single wall carbon nanotubes having non-covalent attachment of various functional group such as proteins, peptides, enzymes, polysaccharides, porphyrin, DNA, sodium dodecyl sulphonate etc have been synthesized. Multiwall carbon nanotubes having non-covalent attachment of functional group proteins, DNA and polylactic acid has been prepared.

The major application of carbon nanotubes is in medical field for sensing the molecules or species. There has been studies on the electrochemical reactivity of carbon nanotubes and it has been demonstrated that carbon nanotubes can enhance the biomolecules and promote the electron transfer in proteins. It has been found that carbon nanotubes promote electron transfer in haeme containing proteins. In haeme containing proteins carbon nanotubes are able to access the haeme centre of biomolecules that is generally not sensed by the glass electrodes.

The advantage of carbon nanotube sensor over conventional glass electrode is the ability of carbon nanotube sensors to lower the over potential of electrode under certain circumstances. These carbon nanotubes are becoming the ideal material in many applications and these carbon nanotubes have been used in a range of molecules to sense and monitor the health issues.

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