Studies of single walled carbon nanotubes for biomedical, mechanical and electrical applications using atomic force microscopy.

摘要

The promise of carbon nanotubes to provide high-strength composites implies that carbon nanotubes might find widespread use throughout the world, implying that humans everywhere will be exposed to carbon nanotube-containing materials. In order to study what effects if any carbon nanotubes might have on the function of living cells, we have studied the association of single stranded DNA (ssDNA) with single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as a first step toward understanding the interaction of SWCNTs with living matter.;Studies have been performed on both as-received and chemically oxidized SWCNTs to better understand the preferential association of ssDNA with SWCNTs. Samples of T30 ssDNA:SWCNT were examined under ambient conditions using non-contact Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)) techniques. AFM images of well-dispersed, as-received SWCNTs revealed isolated features on the SWCNT that are 1.4 to 2.8 nm higher than the bare SWCNT itself. X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed these features to be T30 ssDNA in nature. Chemically oxidizing SWCNTs before dispersion by sonication is found to be an effective way to increase the number of T30 ssDNA features. A series of experiments showed that free radical scavengers such as ascorbic acid and trolox can effectively prevent the conjugation of ssDNA to SWCNTs, suggesting a significant role of free radicals in this association. Also hybridization of the complimentary ssDNA sequences showed the covalent nature of this association. These results are important to understanding the precise mechanism of ssDNA:SWCNT association and provide valuable information for future use in electronics, biosensors and as a possible drug carrier into individual cells.;If SWCNTs are used in biosensor or circuit design applications then it is important to note how much energy can be stored in a SWCNT based on its shape and configuration before a permanent damage is introduced to it. Therefore a study has been done on bending SWCNTs into different morphology and calculating amount of energy stored in it.;Natural fibers offer many advantages over SWCNTs in biomedicine and biosensor applications. Therefore I have expanded my study to characterize cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and investigate their properties such as stiffness, adhesion and modulus using an AFM.