Development of Immunosensors Using Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

With increasing reports on bioterrorism, avian flu, and other bio-threats, rapid and real time detection methods are highly warranted. Studies on developing highly sensitive immunosensors aiming at the early detection and clinical diagnoses of various diseases including cancer are undertaken all over the globe. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely discussed as materials with enormous potential for a wide range of in vivo and in vitro bioapplications, ranging from drug delivery to highly sensitive biosensors, owing to their superior electronic and mechanical properties along with nanoscale dimensions. Though a lot of attention has been drawn toward carbon nanotubes for the past 15 years in academia and to a certain extent in industry, CNT-based immunosensors and other applications are still in the nascent stage, and there are many challenges to be overcome for the successful commercialization of the concepts. This article highlights on the recent developments and the possible impacts of carbon nanotube based immunosensors.

Functionalized carbon nanotubes and nanofibers for biosensing applications

“…Great efforts have been devoted to finding cost-effective approaches to functionalize CNTs for attachment of biomolecules, such as proteins (e.g., enzymes, antibodies), DNA and aptamers, as summarized in review articles [6,11,16,17].…”

“…There are increasing demands for ultra-sensitive protein detection because many important protein biomarkers are present at ultra-low levels, especially during the early stages of disease [42]. Electrochemical immunosensors based on CNTs have been extensively explored for sensitive detection of proteins in recent years [16]. The specific recognition interaction between antibody (or aptamer) and antigen are used for immunosensor.…”

“…This approach is label-free and has been used for detecting a wide range of proteins. There are some details on CNT-based FETs in recent review articles [16,45,46].…”

Optimization of protein patterns for neuronal cell culture applications

“…This was confirmed by the image contrast observed for the Si þ (m/z ¼ 27.977), SiCH 3 þ (m/ z ¼ 43.000), and SiC 3 H 9 þ (m/z ¼ 73.047) ion images, which showed a higher intensity in the stamped FN regions than in the unstamped LN regions. These [Si(CH 3 ) n ] þ ions (and images of representative protein-and substrate-related fragment-ions were normalized to the total-ion intensity. A label indicating the spatial orientation of the two proteins is shown in the SiCH 3 þ image for positive-mode imaging and in the OH -image for negative-mode imaging.…”

Photochemically Controlled Supramolecular Curdlan/Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotube Composite Gel: Preparation of Molecular Distaff by Cyclodextrin Modified Curdlan and Phase Transition Control

“…[1] In recent years, their biological applications, for example in DNA hybridization, [2] biosensors, [3,4] and drug delivery systems, [5,6] have greatly improved. Hydrogels with SWNTs, which swell as a result of water absorption, are attractive for preparing biocompatible materials.…”