Industrial-scale separation of high-purity single-chirality single-wall carbon nanotubes for biological imaging

Nat Commun. 2016 Jun 28:7:12056. doi: 10.1038/ncomms12056.

Abstract

Single-chirality, single-wall carbon nanotubes are desired due to their inherent physical properties and performance characteristics. Here, we demonstrate a chromatographic separation method based on a newly discovered chirality-selective affinity between carbon nanotubes and a gel containing a mixture of the surfactants. In this system, two different selectivities are found: chiral-angle selectivity and diameter selectivity. Since the chirality of nanotubes is determined by the chiral angle and diameter, combining these independent selectivities leads to high-resolution single-chirality separation with milligram-scale throughput and high purity. Furthermore, we present efficient vascular imaging of mice using separated single-chirality (9,4) nanotubes. Due to efficient absorption and emission, blood vessels can be recognized even with the use of ∼100-fold lower injected dose than the reported value for pristine nanotubes. Thus, 1 day of separation provides material for up to 15,000 imaging experiments, which is acceptable for industrial use.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chromatography / methods*
  • Mice
  • Nanotubes, Carbon / chemistry*
  • Optical Imaging
  • Stereoisomerism

Substances

  • Nanotubes, Carbon