Search

Fluorescence imaging of biological systems in the second near-infrared (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm) window has shown promise of high spatial resolution, low background, and deep tissue penetration owing to low autofluorescence and suppressed scattering of long wavelength photons. Here we develop a bright organic nanofluorophore (named p-FE) for high-performance biological imaging in the NIR-II window. The bright NIR-II >1100 nm fluorescence emission from p-FE affords non-invasive in vivo tracking of blood flow in mouse brain vessels. Excitingly, p-FE enables one-photon based, three-dimensional (3D) confocal imaging of vasculatures in fixed mouse brain tissue with a layer-by-layer imaging depth up to ~1.3 mm and sub-10 µm high spatial resolution. We also perform in vivo two-color fluorescence imaging in the NIR-II window by utilizing p-FE as a vasculature imaging agent emitting between 1100 and 1300 nm and single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) emitting above 1500 nm to highlight tumors in mice.

Postsynthetic single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) sorting methods such as density gradient ultracentrifugation, gel chromatography, and electrophoresis have all been inspired by established biochemistry separation techniques designed to separate subcellular components. Biochemistry separation techniques have been refined to the degree that parameters such as pH, salt concentration, and temperature are necessary for a successful separation, yet these conditions are only now being applied to SWCNT separation methodologies. Slight changes in pH produce radically different behaviors of SWCNTs inside a density gradient, allowing for the facile separation of ultrahigh purity (6,4) SWCNTs from as-synthesized carbon nanotubes. The (6,4) SWCNTs are novel fluorophores emitting below ≈900 nm and can be easily detected with conventional silicon-based charge-coupled device detectors without the need for specialized InGaAs cameras. The (6,4) SWCNTs are used to demonstrate their potential as a clinically relevant NIR-I fluorescence stain for the immunohistochemical staining of cells and cancer tissue sections displaying high endothelial growth factor receptor levels., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Compared to imaging in the visible and near-infrared regions below 900 nm, imaging in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm) is a promising method for deep-tissue high-resolution optical imaging in vivo mainly owing to the reduced scattering of photons traversing through biological tissues. Herein, semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes with large diameters were used for in vivo fluorescence imaging in the long-wavelength NIR region (1500-1700 nm, NIR-IIb). With this imaging agent, 3-4 μm wide capillary blood vessels at a depth of about 3 mm could be resolved. Meanwhile, the blood-flow speeds in multiple individual vessels could be mapped simultaneously. Furthermore, NIR-IIb tumor imaging of a live mouse was explored. NIR-IIb imaging can be generalized to a wide range of fluorophores emitting at up to 1700 nm for high-performance in vivo optical imaging., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The objective of this study was to enhance the angiogenic capacity of endothelial cells (ECs) using nanoscale signaling cues from aligned nanofibrillar scaffolds in the setting of tissue ischemia. Thread-like nanofibrillar scaffolds with porous structure were fabricated from aligned-braided membranes generated under shear from liquid crystal collagen solution. Human ECs showed greater outgrowth from aligned scaffolds than from nonpatterned scaffolds. Integrin α1 was in part responsible for the enhanced cellular outgrowth on aligned nanofibrillar scaffolds, as the effect was abrogated by integrin α1 inhibition. To test the efficacy of EC-seeded aligned nanofibrillar scaffolds in improving neovascularization in vivo, the ischemic limbs of mice were treated with EC-seeded aligned nanofibrillar scaffold; EC-seeded nonpatterned scaffold; ECs in saline; aligned nanofibrillar scaffold alone; or no treatment. After 14 days, laser Doppler blood spectroscopy demonstrated significant improvement in blood perfusion recovery when treated with EC-seeded aligned nanofibrillar scaffolds, in comparison to ECs in saline or no treatment. In ischemic hindlimbs treated with scaffolds seeded with human ECs derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-ECs), single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) fluorophores were systemically delivered to quantify microvascular density after 28 days. Near infrared-II (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm) imaging of SWNT fluorophores demonstrated that iPSC-EC-seeded aligned scaffolds group showed significantly higher microvascular density than the saline or cells groups. These data suggest that treatment with EC-seeded aligned nanofibrillar scaffolds improved blood perfusion and arteriogenesis, when compared to treatment with cells alone or scaffold alone, and have important implications in the design of therapeutic cell delivery strategies.

Multi-modal imaging guided photothermal therapy with single-walled carbon nanotubes affords effective destruction of primary tumors together with cancer cells in sentinel lymph nodes. This results in remarkably prolonged mouse survival compared to mice treated by elimination of only the primary tumor by either surgery or conventional photothermal therapy., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are receiving considerable attention in site-specific drug and nucleic acid delivery, photodynamic therapy, and photoacoustic molecular imaging. Despite these advances, nanotubes may activate the complement system (an integral part of innate immunity), which can induce clinically significant anaphylaxis. We demonstrate that single-walled CNTs coated with human serum albumin activate the complement system through C1q-mediated classical and the alternative pathways. Surface coating with methoxypoly(ethylene glycol)-based amphiphiles, which confers solubility and prolongs circulation profiles of CNTs, activates the complement system differently, depending on the amphiphile structure. CNTs with linear poly(ethylene glycol) amphiphiles trigger the lectin pathway of the complement through both L-ficolin and mannan-binding lectin recognition. The lectin pathway activation, however, did not trigger the amplification loop of the alternative pathway. An amphiphile with branched poly(ethylene glycol) architecture also activated the lectin pathway but only through L-ficolin recognition. Importantly, this mode of activation neither generated anaphylatoxins nor induced triggering of the effector arm of the complement system. These observations provide a major step toward nanomaterial surface modification with polymers that have the properties to significantly improve innate immunocompatibility by limiting the formation of complement C3 and C5 convertases.

Electrochemical systems, such as fuel cell and water splitting devices, represent some of the most efficient and environmentally friendly technologies for energy conversion and storage. Electrocatalysts play key roles in the chemical processes but often limit the performance of the entire systems due to insufficient activity, lifetime, or high cost. It has been a long-standing challenge to develop efficient and durable electrocatalysts at low cost. In this Perspective, we present our recent efforts in developing strongly coupled inorganic/nanocarbon hybrid materials to improve the electrocatalytic activities and stability of inorganic metal oxides, hydroxides, sulfides, and metal-nitrogen complexes. The hybrid materials are synthesized by direct nucleation, growth, and anchoring of inorganic nanomaterials on the functional groups of oxidized nanocarbon substrates including graphene and carbon nanotubes. This approach affords strong chemical attachment and electrical coupling between the electrocatalytic nanoparticles and nanocarbon, leading to nonprecious metal-based electrocatalysts with improved activity and durability for the oxygen reduction reaction for fuel cells and chlor-alkali catalysis, oxygen evolution reaction, and hydrogen evolution reaction. X-ray absorption near-edge structure and scanning transmission electron microscopy are employed to characterize the hybrids materials and reveal the coupling effects between inorganic nanomaterials and nanocarbon substrates. Z-contrast imaging and electron energy loss spectroscopy at single atom level are performed to investigate the nature of catalytic sites on ultrathin graphene sheets. Nanocarbon-based hybrid materials may present new opportunities for the development of electrocatalysts meeting the requirements of activity, durability, and cost for large-scale electrochemical applications.

Background: Macrophages are critical contributors to atherosclerosis. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) show promising properties for cellular imaging and thermal therapy, which may have application to vascular macrophages., Methods and Results: In vitro uptake and photothermal destruction of mouse macrophage cells (RAW264.7) were performed with SWNTs (14.7 nmol/L) exposed to an 808-nm light source. SWNTs were taken up by 94 ± 6% of macrophages, and light exposure induced 93 ± 3% cell death. In vivo vascular macrophage uptake and ablation were then investigated in carotid-ligated FVB mice (n=33) after induction of hyperlipidemia and diabetes. Two weeks postligation, near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) carotid imaging (n=12) was performed with SWNT-Cy5.5 (8 nmol of Cy5.5) given via the tail vein. Photothermal heating and macrophage apoptosis were evaluated on freshly excised carotid arteries (n=21). NIRF of SWNTs showed higher signal intensity in ligated carotids compared with sham, confirmed by both in situ and ex vivo NIRF imaging (P<0.05, ligation versus sham). Immunofluorescence staining showed colocalization of SWNT-Cy5.5 and macrophages in atherosclerotic lesions. Light (808 nm) exposure of freshly excised carotids showed heating and induction of macrophage apoptosis in ligated left carotid arteries with SWNTs, but not in control groups without SWNTs or without light exposure., Conclusions: Carbon nanotubes accumulate in atherosclerotic macrophages in vivo and provide a multifunctional platform for imaging and photothermal therapy of vascular inflammation.

The intrinsic band gap photoluminescence of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) makes them promising biological imaging probes in the second near-infrared (NIR-II, 1.0-1.4 μm) window. Thus far, SWNTs used for biological applications have been a complex mixture of metallic and semiconducting species with random chiralities, preventing simultaneous resonant excitation of all semiconducting nanotubes and emission at a single well-defined wavelength. Here, we developed a simple gel filtration method to enrich semiconducting (12,1) and (11,3) SWNTs with identical resonance absorption at ~808 nm and emission near ~1200 nm. The chirality sorted SWNTs showed ~5-fold higher photoluminescence intensity under resonant excitation of 808 nm than unsorted SWNTs on a per-mass basis. Real-time in vivo video imaging of whole mouse body and tumor vessels was achieved using a ~6-fold lower injected dose of (12,1) and (11,3) SWNTs (~3 μg per mouse or ~0.16 mg/kg of body weight vs 1.0 mg/kg for unsorted SWNTs) than a previous heterogeneous mixture, demonstrating the first resonantly excited and chirality separated SWNTs for biological imaging.

Electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial for a variety of renewable energy applications and energy-intensive industries. The design and synthesis of highly active ORR catalysts with strong durability at low cost is extremely desirable but remains challenging. Here, we used a simple two-step method to synthesize cobalt oxide/carbon nanotube (CNT) strongly coupled hybrid as efficient ORR catalyst by directly growing nanocrystals on oxidized multiwalled CNTs. The mildly oxidized CNTs provided functional groups on the outer walls to nucleate and anchor nanocrystals, while retaining intact inner walls for highly conducting network. Cobalt oxide was in the form of CoO due to a gas-phase annealing step in NH(3). The resulting CoO/nitrogen-doped CNT (NCNT) hybrid showed high ORR current density that outperformed Co(3)O(4)/graphene hybrid and commercial Pt/C catalyst at medium overpotential, mainly through a 4e reduction pathway. The metal oxide/carbon nanotube hybrid was found to be advantageous over the graphene counterpart in terms of active sites and charge transport. Last, the CoO/NCNT hybrid showed high ORR activity and stability under a highly corrosive condition of 10 M NaOH at 80 °C, demonstrating the potential of strongly coupled inorganic/nanocarbon hybrid as a novel catalyst system in oxygen depolarized cathode for chlor-alkali electrolysis.

Cancer imaging requires selective high accumulation of contrast agents in the tumor region and correspondingly low uptake in healthy tissues. Here, by making use of a novel synthetic polymer to solubilize single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), we prepared a well-functionalized SWNT formulation with long blood circulation (half-life of ∼30 h) in vivo to achieve ultrahigh accumulation of ∼30% injected dose (ID)/g in 4T1 murine breast tumors in Balb/c mice. Functionalization dependent blood circulation and tumor uptake were investigated through comparisons with phospholipid-PEG solubilized SWNTs. For the first time, we performed video-rate imaging of tumors based on the intrinsic fluorescence of SWNTs in the second near-infrared (NIR-II, 1.1-1.4 μm) window. We carried out dynamic contrast imaging through principal component analysis (PCA) to immediately pinpoint the tumor within ∼20 s after injection. Imaging over time revealed increasing tumor contrast up to 72 h after injection, allowing for its unambiguous identification. The 3D reconstruction of the SWNTs distribution based on their stable photoluminescence inside the tumor revealed a high degree of colocalization of SWNTs and blood vessels, suggesting enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect as the main cause of high passive tumor uptake of the nanotubes.

Photoacoustic imaging is a unique modality that overcomes to a great extent the resolution and depth limitations of optical imaging while maintaining relatively high contrast. However, since many diseases will not manifest an endogenous photoacoustic contrast, it is essential to develop exogenous photoacoustic contrast agents that can target diseased tissue(s). Here we present a family of novel photoacoustic contrast agents that are based on the binding of small optical dyes to single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT-dye). We synthesized five different SWNT-dye contrast agents using different optical dyes, creating five "flavors" of SWNT-dye nanoparticles. In particular, SWNTs that were coated with either QSY(21) (SWNT-QSY) or indocyanine green (SWNT-ICG) exhibited over 100-times higher photoacoustic contrast in living animals compared to plain SWNTs, leading to subnanomolar sensitivities. We then conjugated the SWNT-dye conjugates with cyclic Arg-Gly-Asp peptides to molecularly target the α(v)β(3) integrin, which is associated with tumor angiogenesis. Intravenous administration of these tumor-targeted imaging agents to tumor-bearing mice showed significantly higher photoacoustic signal in the tumor than in mice injected with the untargeted contrast agent. Finally, we were able to spectrally separate the photoacoustic signals of SWNT-QSY and SWNT-ICG in living animals injected subcutaneously with both particles in the same location, opening the possibility for multiplexing in vivo studies.

Oxygen reduction reaction catalysts based on precious metals such as platinum or its alloys are routinely used in fuel cells because of their high activity. Carbon-supported materials containing metals such as iron or cobalt as well as nitrogen impurities have been proposed to increase scalability and reduce costs, but these alternatives usually suffer from low activity and/or gradual deactivation during use. Here, we show that few-walled carbon nanotubes, following outer wall exfoliation via oxidation and high-temperature reaction with ammonia, can act as an oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalyst in both acidic and alkaline solutions. Under a unique oxidation condition, the outer walls of the few-walled carbon nanotubes are partially unzipped, creating nanoscale sheets of graphene attached to the inner tubes. The graphene sheets contain extremely small amounts of irons originated from nanotube growth seeds, and nitrogen impurities, which facilitate the formation of catalytic sites and boost the activity of the catalyst, as revealed by atomic-scale microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy. Whereas the graphene sheets formed from the unzipped part of the outer wall of the nanotubes are responsible for the catalytic activity, the inner walls remain intact and retain their electrical conductivity, which facilitates charge transport during electrocatalysis.

Fluorescent imaging in the second near-infrared window (NIR II, 1-1.4 μm) holds much promise due to minimal autofluorescence and tissue scattering. Here, using well-functionalized biocompatible single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as NIR II fluorescent imaging agents, we performed high-frame-rate video imaging of mice during intravenous injection of SWNTs and investigated the path of SWNTs through the mouse anatomy. We observed in real-time SWNT circulation through the lungs and kidneys several seconds postinjection, and spleen and liver at slightly later time points. Dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging through principal component analysis (PCA) was performed and found to greatly increase the anatomical resolution of organs as a function of time postinjection. Importantly, PCA was able to discriminate organs such as the pancreas, which could not be resolved from real-time raw images. Tissue phantom studies were performed to compare imaging in the NIR II region to the traditional NIR I biological transparency window (700-900 nm). Examination of the feature sizes of a common NIR I dye (indocyanine green) showed a more rapid loss of feature contrast and integrity with increasing feature depth as compared to SWNTs in the NIR II region. The effects of increased scattering in the NIR I versus NIR II region were confirmed by Monte Carlo simulation. In vivo fluorescence imaging in the NIR II region combined with PCA analysis may represent a powerful approach to high-resolution optical imaging through deep tissues, useful for a wide range of applications from biomedical research to disease diagnostics.

The photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is relatively low, with various quenching effects by metallic species reported in the literature. Here, we report the first case of metal enhanced fluorescence (MEF) of surfactant-coated carbon nanotubes on nanostructured gold substrates. The photoluminescence quantum yield of SWNTs is observed to be enhanced more than 10-fold. The dependence of fluorescence enhancement on metal-nanotube distance and on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of the gold substrate for various SWNT chiralities is measured to reveal the mechanism of enhancement. Surfactant-coated SWNTs in direct contact with metal exhibit strong MEF without quenching, suggesting a small quenching distance for SWNTs on the order of the van der Waals distance, beyond which the intrinsically fast nonradiative decay rate in nanotubes is little enhanced by metal. The metal enhanced fluorescence of SWNTs is attributed to radiative lifetime shortening through resonance coupling of SWNT emission to the reradiating dipolar plasmonic modes in the metal.

Photoacoustic imaging is an emerging modality that overcomes to a great extent the resolution and depth limitations of optical imaging while maintaining relatively high-contrast. However, since many diseases will not manifest an endogenous photoacoustic contrast, it is essential to develop exogenous photoacoustic contrast agents that can target diseased tissue(s). Here we present a novel photoacoustic contrast agent, Indocyanine Green dye-enhanced single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT-ICG). We conjugated this contrast agent with cyclic Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptides to molecularly target the alpha(v)beta(3) integrins, which are associated with tumor angiogenesis. Intravenous administration of this tumor-targeted contrast agent to tumor-bearing mice showed significantly higher photoacoustic signal in the tumor than in mice injected with the untargeted contrast agent. The new contrast agent gave a markedly 300 times higher photoacoustic contrast in living tissues than previously reported SWNTs, leading to subnanomolar sensitivities. Finally, we show that the new contrast agent can detect approximately 20 times fewer cancer cells than previously reported SWNTs.

The near-infrared photoluminescence intrinsic to semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes is ideal for biological imaging owing to the low autofluorescence and deep tissue penetration in the near-infrared region beyond 1 microm. However, biocompatible single-walled carbon nanotubes with high quantum yield have been elusive. Here, we show that sonicating single-walled carbon nanotubes with sodium cholate, followed by surfactant exchange to form phospholipid-polyethylene glycol coated nanotubes, produces in vivo imaging agents that are both bright and biocompatible. The exchange procedure is better than directly sonicating the tubes with the phospholipid-polyethylene glycol, because it results in less damage to the nanotubes and improves the quantum yield. We show whole-animal in vivo imaging using an InGaAs camera in the 1-1.7 microm spectral range by detecting the intrinsic near-infrared photoluminescence of the 'exchange' single-walled carbon nanotubes at a low dose (17 mg l(-1) injected dose). The deep tissue penetration and low autofluorescence background allowed high-resolution intravital microscopy imaging of tumour vessels beneath thick skin.

It remains an elusive goal to achieve high-performance single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) field-effect transistors (FETs) composed of only single-chirality SWNTs. Many separation mechanisms have been devised and various degrees of separation demonstrated, yet it is still difficult to reach the goal of total fractionation of a given nanotube mixture into its single-chirality components. Chromatography has been reported to separate small SWNTs (diameter < or = 0.9 nm) according to their diameter, chirality, and length. The separation efficiency decreased with increasing tube diameter when the ssDNA sequence d(GT)(n) (n = 10-45) was used. Here we report our results on the separation of single-chirality (10,5) SWNTs (diameter = 1.03 nm) from HiPco tubes using ion-exchange chromatography. The separation efficiency was improved by using the new DNA sequence (TTTA)(3)T, which can recognize SWNTs with the specific chirality (10,5). The chirality of the separated tubes was examined by optical absorption, Raman, photoluminescence excitation/emission, and electrical transport measurements. All of the spectroscopic methods gave a single peak of (10,5) tubes. The purity was 99% according to the electrical measurement. The FETs composed of separated SWNTs in parallel gave an I(on)/I(off) ratio up to 10(6) due to the single-chirality-enriched (10,5) tubes. This is the first time that SWNT FETs with single-chirality SWNTs have been achieved. The chromatography method has the potential to separate even larger diameter semiconducting SWNTs from other starting materials to further improve the performance of the SWNT FETs.

Nanomaterials hold much promise for biological applications, but they require appropriate functionalization to provide biocompatibility in biological environments. For noncovalent functionalization with biocompatible polymers, the polymer must also remain attached to the nanomaterial after removal of its excess to mimic the high-dilution conditions of administration in vivo. Reported here are the synthesis and utilization of singly substituted conjugates of dextran and a phospholipid (dextran-DSPE) as stable coatings for nanomaterials. Suspensions of single-walled carbon nanotubes were found not only to be stable to phosphate buffered saline (PBS), serum, and a variety of pH's after excess polymer removal, but also to provide brighter photoluminescence than carbon nanotubes suspended by poly(ethylene glycol)-DSPE. In addition, both gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and gold nanorods (AuNRs) were found to maintain their dispersion and characteristic optical absorbance after transfer into dextran-DSPE and were obtained in much better yield than similar suspensions with PEG-phospholipid and commonly used thiol-PEG. These suspensions were also stable to PBS, serum, and a variety of pH's after removal of excess polymer. dextran-DSPE thus shows great promise as a general surfactant material for the functionalization of a variety of nanomaterials, which could facilitate future biological applications.

Biomedical applications of carbon nanotubes have attracted much attention in recent years. Here, we summarize our previously developed protocols for functionalization and bioconjugation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) for various biomedical applications including biological imaging; using nanotubes as Raman, photoluminescence and photoacoustic labels; sensing using nanotubes as Raman tags and drug delivery. Sonication of SWNTs in solutions of phospholipid-polyethylene glycol (PL-PEG) is our most commonly used protocol of SWNT functionalization. Compared with other frequently used covalent strategies, our non-covalent functionalization protocol largely retains the intrinsic optical properties of SWNTs, which are useful in various biological imaging and sensing applications. Functionalized SWNTs are conjugated with targeting ligands, including peptides and antibodies for specific cell labeling in vitro or tumor targeting in vivo. Radio labels are introduced for tracking and imaging of SWNTs in real time in vivo. Moreover, SWNTs can be conjugated with small interfering RNA (siRNA) or loaded with chemotherapy drugs for drug delivery. These procedures take various times ranging from 1 to 5 d.

The current sensitivity of standard fluorescence-based protein detection limits the use of protein arrays in research and clinical diagnosis. Here, we use functionalized, macromolecular single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as multicolor Raman labels for highly sensitive, multiplexed protein detection in an arrayed format. Unlike fluorescence methods, Raman detection benefits from the sharp scattering peaks of SWNTs with minimal background interference, affording a high signal-to-noise ratio needed for ultra-sensitive detection. When combined with surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates, the strong Raman intensity of SWNT tags affords protein detection sensitivity in sandwich assays down to 1 fM--a three-order-of-magnitude improvement over most reports of fluorescence-based detection. We use SWNT Raman tags to detect human autoantibodies against proteinase 3, a biomarker for the autoimmune disease Wegener's granulomatosis, diluted up to 10(7)-fold in 1% human serum. SWNT Raman tags are not subject to photobleaching or quenching. By conjugating different antibodies to pure (12)C and (13)C SWNT isotopes, we demonstrate multiplexed two-color SWNT Raman-based protein detection.

We show that single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with different isotope compositions exhibit distinct Raman G-band peaks and can be used for multiplexed multicolor Raman imaging of biological systems. Cancer cells with specific receptors are selectively labeled with three differently "colored" SWNTs conjugated with various targeting ligands including Herceptin (anti-Her2), Erbitux (anti-Her1), and RGD peptide, allowing for multicolor Raman imaging of cells in a multiplexed manner. SWNT Raman signals are highly robust against photobleaching, allowing long-term imaging and tracking. With narrow peak features, SWNT Raman signals are easily differentiated from the autofluorescence background. The SWNT Raman excitation and scattering photons are in the near-infrared region, which is the most transparent optical window for biological systems in vitro and in vivo. Thus, SWNTs are novel Raman tags promising for multiplexed biological detection and imaging.

Most low-molecular-weight platinum anticancer drugs have short blood circulation times that are reflected in their reduced tumor uptake and intracellular DNA binding. A platinum(IV) complex of the formula c, c, t-[Pt(NH 3) 2Cl 2(O 2CCH 2CH 2CO 2H)(O 2CCH 2CH 2CONH-PEG-FA)] ( 1), containing a folate derivative (FA) at an axial position, was prepared and characterized. Folic acid offers a means of targeting human cells that highly overexpress the folate receptor (FR). Compound 1 was attached to the surface of an amine-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT-PL-PEG-NH 2) through multiple amide linkages to use the SWNTs as a "longboat delivery system" for the platinum warhead, carrying it to the tumor cell and releasing cisplatin upon intracellular reduction of Pt(IV) to Pt(II). The ability of SWNT tethered 1 to destroy selectively FR(+) vs FR(-) cells demonstrated its ability to target tumor cells that overexpress the FR on their surface. That the SWNTs deliver the folate-bearing Pt(IV) cargos into FR(+) cancer cells by endocytosis was demonstrated by the localization of fluorophore-labeled SWNTs using fluorescence microscopy. Once inside the cell, cisplatin, formed upon reductive release from the longboat oars, enters the nucleus and reacts with its target nuclear DNA, as determined by platinum atomic absorption spectroscopy of cell extracts. Formation of the major cisplatin 1,2-intrastrand d(GpG) cross-links on the nuclear DNA was demonstrated by use of a monoclonal antibody specific for this adduct. The SWNT-tethered compound 1 is the first construct in which both the targeting and delivery moieties have been incorporated into the same molecule; it is also the first demonstration that intracellular reduction of a Pt(IV) prodrug leads to the cis-{Pt((NH 3) 2} 1,2-intrastrand d(GpG) cross-link in nuclear DNA.

Chemically functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) have shown promise in tumor-targeted accumulation in mice and exhibit biocompatibility, excretion, and little toxicity. Here, we show in vivo SWNT drug delivery for tumor suppression in mice. We conjugate paclitaxel (PTX), a widely used cancer chemotherapy drug, to branched polyethylene glycol chains on SWNTs via a cleavable ester bond to obtain a water-soluble SWNT-PTX conjugate. SWNT-PTX affords higher efficacy in suppressing tumor growth than clinical Taxol in a murine 4T1 breast cancer model, owing to prolonged blood circulation and 10-fold higher tumor PTX uptake by SWNT delivery likely through enhanced permeability and retention. Drug molecules carried into the reticuloendothelial system are released from SWNTs and excreted via biliary pathway without causing obvious toxic effects to normal organs. Thus, nanotube drug delivery is promising for high treatment efficacy and minimum side effects for future cancer therapy with low drug doses.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes are currently under evaluation in biomedical applications, including in vivo delivery of drugs, proteins, peptides and nucleic acids (for gene transfer or gene silencing), in vivo tumour imaging and tumour targeting of single-walled carbon nanotubes as an anti-neoplastic treatment. However, concerns about the potential toxicity of single-walled carbon nanotubes have been raised. Here we examine the acute and chronic toxicity of functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes when injected into the bloodstream of mice. Survival, clinical and laboratory parameters reveal no evidence of toxicity over 4 months. Upon killing, careful necropsy and tissue histology show age-related changes only. Histology and Raman microscopic mapping demonstrate that functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes persisted within liver and spleen macrophages for 4 months without apparent toxicity. Although this is a preliminary study with a small group of animals, our results encourage further confirmation studies with larger groups of animals.

It remains an elusive goal to obtain high performance single-walled carbon-nanotube (SWNT) electronics such as field effect transistors (FETs) composed of single- or few-chirality SWNTs, due to broad distributions in as-grown materials. Much progress has been made by various separation approaches to obtain materials enriched in metal or semiconducting nanotubes or even in single chiralties. However, research in validating SWNT separations by electrical transport measurements and building functional electronic devices has been scarce. Here, we performed length, diameter, and chirality separation of DNA functionalized HiPco SWNTs by chromatography methods, and we characterized the chiralities by photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy, optical absorption spectroscopy, and electrical transport measurements. The use of these combined methods provided deeper insight to the degree of separation than either technique alone. Separation of SWNTs by chirality and diameter occurred at varying degrees that decreased with increasing tube diameter. This calls for new separation methods capable of metallicity or chirality separation of large diameter SWNTs (in the approximately 1.5 nm range) needed for high performance nanoelectronics. With most of the separated fractions enriched in semiconducting SWNTs, nanotubes placed in parallel in short-channel (approximately 200 nm) electrical devices fail to produce FETs with high on/off switching, indicating incomplete elimination of metallic species. In rare cases with a certain separated SWNT fraction, we were able to fabricate FET devices composed of small-diameter, chemically separated SWNTs in parallel, with high on-/off-current (I(on)/I(off)) ratios up to 105 owing to semiconducting SWNTs with only a few (n,m) chiralities in the fraction. This was the first time that chemically separated SWNTs were used for short channel, all-semiconducting SWNT electronics dominant by just a few (n,m)'s. Nevertheless, the results suggest that much improved chemical separation methods are needed to produce nanotube electronics at a large scale.

Carbon nanotubes are promising new materials for molecular delivery in biological systems. The long-term fate of nanotubes intravenously injected into animals in vivo is currently unknown, an issue critical to potential clinical applications of these materials. Here, using the intrinsic Raman spectroscopic signatures of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), we measured the blood circulation of intravenously injected SWNTs and detect SWNTs in various organs and tissues of mice ex vivo over a period of three months. Functionalization of SWNTs by branched polyethylene-glycol (PEG) chains was developed, enabling thus far the longest SWNT blood circulation up to 1 day, relatively low uptake in the reticuloendothelial system (RES), and near-complete clearance from the main organs in approximately 2 months. Raman spectroscopy detected SWNT in the intestine, feces, kidney, and bladder of mice, suggesting excretion and clearance of SWNTs from mice via the biliary and renal pathways. No toxic side effect of SWNTs to mice was observed in necropsy, histology, and blood chemistry measurements. These findings pave the way to future biomedical applications of carbon nanotubes.

Fluorescent molecules emitting in the near-infrared (NIR, wavelength approximately 0.8-2 microm) are relatively scarce and have been actively sought for biological applications because cells and tissues exhibit little auto-fluorescence in this region. Here, we report the use of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as near-infrared fluorescent tags for selective probing of cell surface receptors and cell imaging. Biologically inert SWNTs with polyethyleneglycol functionalization are conjugated to antibodies such as Rituxan to selectively recognize CD20 cell surface receptor on B-cells with little nonspecific binding to negative T-cells and Herceptin to recognize HER2/neu positive breast cancer cells. We image selective SWNT-antibody binding to cells by detecting the intrinsic NIR photoluminescence of nanotubes. We observe ultralow NIR autofluorescence for various cells, an advantageous feature over high autofluorescence and large variations between cells lines in the visible. This establishes SWNTs as novel NIR fluorophors for sensitive and selective biological detections and imaging in vitro and potentially in vivo. Further, our results clearly show that the interactions between carbon nanotubes and living cells are strongly dependent on surface functionalization of nanotubes.

We show that large surface areas exist for supramolecular chemistry on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) prefunctionalized noncovalently or covalently by common surfactant or acid-oxidation routes. Water-soluble SWNTs with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) functionalization via these routes allow for surprisingly high degrees of pi-stacking of aromatic molecules, including a cancer drug (doxorubicin) with ultrahigh loading capacity, a widely used fluorescence molecule (fluorescein), and combinations of molecules. Binding of molecules to nanotubes and their release can be controlled by varying the pH. The strength of pi-stacking of aromatic molecules is dependent on nanotube diameter, leading to a method for controlling the release rate of molecules from SWNTs by using nanotube materials with suitable diameter. This work introduces the concept of "functionalization partitioning" of SWNTs, i.e., imparting multiple chemical species, such as PEG, drugs, and fluorescent tags, with different functionalities onto the surface of the same nanotube. Such chemical partitioning should open up new opportunities in chemical, biological, and medical applications of novel nanomaterials.

We present a novel prototype neural interface using vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT) pillars as microelectrodes. Functionalized hydrophilic CNT microelectrodes offer a high charge injection limit (1-1.6 mC/cm2) without faradic reactions. The first repeated in vitro stimulation of hippocampal neurons with CNT electrodes is demonstrated. These results suggest that CNTs are capable of providing far safer and more efficacious solutions for neural prostheses than previous metal electrode approaches.

For single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) field effect transistors, vertical scaling of high kappa dielectrics by atomic layer deposition (ALD) currently stands at approximately 8 nm with a subthreshold swing S approximately 70-90 mV/decade at room temperature. ALD on as-grown pristine SWNTs is incapable of producing a uniform and conformal dielectric layer due to the lack of functional groups on nanotubes and because nucleation of an oxide dielectric layer in the ALD process hinges upon covalent chemisorption on reactive groups on surfaces. Here, we show that by noncovalent functionalization of SWNTs with poly-T DNA molecules (dT40-DNA), one can impart functional groups of sufficient density and stability for uniform and conformal ALD of high kappa dielectrics on SWNTs with thickness down to 2-3 nm. This enables approaching the ultimate vertical scaling limit of nanotube FETs and reliably achieving S approximately 60 mV/decade at room temperature, and S approximately 50 mV/decade in the band-to-band tunneling regime of ambipolar transport. We have also carried out microscopy investigations to understand ALD processes on SWNTs with and without DNA functionalization.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes have shown a wealth of quantum transport phenomena thus far. Defect-free, unperturbed single-walled carbon nanotubes with well behaved or tunable metal contacts are important for probing the intrinsic electrical properties of nanotubes. Meeting these conditions experimentally is non-trivial owing to numerous disorder and randomizing factors. Here we show that approximately 1-microm-long fully suspended single-walled carbon nanotubes grown in place between metal contacts afford devices with well defined characteristics over much wider energy ranges than nanotubes pinned on substrates. Various low-temperature transport regimes in true-metallic, small- and large-bandgap semiconducting nanotubes are observed, including quantum states shell-filling, -splitting and -crossing in magnetic fields owing to the Aharonov-Bohm effect. The clean transport data show a correlation between the contact junction resistance and the various transport regimes in single-walled-carbon-nanotube devices. Furthermore, we show that electrical transport data can be used to probe the band structures of nanotubes, including nonlinear band dispersion.

We present a novel functionalization scheme for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) to afford nanotube-biomolecule conjugates with the incorporation of cleavable bonds to enable controlled molecular releasing from nanotube surfaces, thus creating "smart" nanomaterials with high potential for chemical and biological applications. With this versatile functionalization, we demonstrate transporting, enzymatic cleaving and releasing of DNA from SWNT transporters, and subsequent nuclear translocation of DNA oligonucleotides in mammalian cells. We further show highly efficient delivery of siRNA by SWNTs and achieving more potent RNAi functionality than a widely used conventional transfection agent. Thus, the novel functionalization of SWNTs with cleavable bonds is highly promising for a wide range of applications including gene and protein therapy.

Biological systems are known to be highly transparent to 700- to 1,100-nm near-infrared (NIR) light. It is shown here that the strong optical absorbance of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in this special spectral window, an intrinsic property of SWNTs, can be used for optical stimulation of nanotubes inside living cells to afford multifunctional nanotube biological transporters. For oligonucleotides transported inside living cells by nanotubes, the oligos can translocate into cell nucleus upon endosomal rupture triggered by NIR laser pulses. Continuous NIR radiation can cause cell death because of excessive local heating of SWNT in vitro. Selective cancer cell destruction can be achieved by functionalization of SWNT with a folate moiety, selective internalization of SWNTs inside cells labeled with folate receptor tumor markers, and NIR-triggered cell death, without harming receptor-free normal cells. Thus, the transporting capabilities of carbon nanotubes combined with suitable functionalization chemistry and their intrinsic optical properties can lead to new classes of novel nanomaterials for drug delivery and cancer therapy.

Various proteins adsorb spontaneously on the sidewalls of acid-oxidized single-walled carbon nanotubes. This simple nonspecific binding scheme can be used to afford noncovalent protein-nanotube conjugates. The proteins are found to be readily transported inside various mammalian cells with nanotubes acting as the transporter via the endocytosis pathway. Once released from the endosomes, the internalized protein-nanotube conjugates can enter into the cytoplasm of cells and perform biological functions, evidenced by apoptosis induction by transported cytochrome c. Carbon nanotubes represent a new class of molecular transporters potentially useful for future in vitro and in vivo protein delivery applications.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are a new class of highly promising nanomaterials for future nano-electronics. Here, we present an initial investigation of the feasibility of using SWNT field effect transistors (SWNT-FETs) formed on silicon-oxide substrates and suspended FETs for radiation dosimetry applications. Electrical measurements and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed the intactness of SWNT-FET devices after exposure to over 1 Gy of 6 MV therapeutic x-rays. The sensitivity of SWNT-FET devices to x-ray irradiation is elucidated by real-time dose monitoring experiments and accumulated dose reading based on threshold voltage shift. SWNT-FET devices exhibit sensitivities to x-rays that are at least comparable to or orders of magnitude higher than commercial MOSFET (metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) dosimeters and could find applications as miniature dosimeters for microbeam profiling and implantation.

Short channel ( approximately 80 nm) n-type single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) field-effect transistors (FETs) with potassium (K) doped source and drain regions and high-kappa gate dielectrics (ALD HfO(2)) are obtained. For nanotubes with diameter approximately 1.6 nm and band gap approximately 0.55 eV, we obtain n-MOSFET-like devices exhibiting high on-currents due to chemically suppressed Schottky barriers at the contacts, subthreshold swing of 70 mV/decade, negligible ambipolar conduction, and high on/off ratios up to 10(6) at a bias voltage of 0.5 V. The results compare favorably with the state-of-the-art silicon n-MOSFETs and demonstrate the potential of SWNTs for future complementary electronics. The effects of doping level on the electrical characteristics of the nanotube devices are discussed.

Suspended single-walled carbon nanotube devices comprised of high-quality electrical contacts and two electrostatic gates per device have been prepared. Compared to nanotubes pinned on substrates, the suspended devices exhibit little hysteresis related to environmental factors and act as cleaner Fabry-Perot interferometers or single-electron transistors. The high-field saturation currents in the suspended nanotubes related to optical phonon or zone-boundary phonon scattering are significantly lower due to the lack of efficient heat sinking. The multiple-gate design may also facilitate future investigations into the electromechanical properties of nanotube quantum systems.

The interactions between various functionalized carbon nanotubes and several types of human cancer cells are explored. We have prepared modified nanotubes and have shown that these can be derivatized in a way that enables attachment of small molecules and of proteins, the latter through a novel noncovalent association. The functionalized carbon nanotubes enter nonadherent human cancer cells as well as adherent cell lines (CHO and 3T3) and by themselves are not toxic. While the fluoresceinated protein streptavidin (MW approximately 60 kD) by itself does not enter cells, it readily enters cells when complexed to a nanotube-biotin transporter and exhibits dose-dependent cytotoxicity. The uptake pathway is consistent with adsorption-mediated endocytosis. The use of carbon nanotubes as molecular transporters could be exploited for various cargos. The biocompatibility and unique physical, electrical, optical, and mechanical properties of nanotubes provide the basis for new classes of materials for drug, protein, and gene delivery applications.

It has been reported that protein adsorption on single-walled carbon nanotube field effect transistors (FETs) leads to appreciable changes in the electrical conductance of the devices, a phenomenon that can be exploited for label-free detection of biomolecules with a high potential for miniaturization. This work presents an elucidation of the electronic biosensing mechanisms with a newly developed microarray of nanotube "micromat" sensors. Chemical functionalization schemes are devised to block selected components of the devices from protein adsorption, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of methoxy(poly(ethylene glycol))thiol (mPEG-SH) on the metal electrodes (Au, Pd) and PEG-containing surfactants on the nanotubes. Extensive characterization reveals that electronic effects occurring at the metal-nanotube contacts due to protein adsorption constitute a more significant contribution to the electronic biosensing signal than adsorption solely along the exposed lengths of the nanotubes.

Real-time vascular imaging that provides both anatomic and hemodynamic information could greatly facilitate the diagnosis of vascular diseases and provide accurate assessment of therapeutic effects. Here, we have developed a novel fluorescence-based all-optical method, named near-infrared II (NIR-II) fluorescence imaging, to image murine hindlimb vasculature and blood flow in an experimental model of peripheral arterial disease, by exploiting fluorescence in the NIR-II region (1000-1400 nm) of photon wavelengths.Because of the reduced photon scattering of NIR-II fluorescence compared with traditional NIR fluorescence imaging and thus much deeper penetration depth into the body, we demonstrated that the mouse hindlimb vasculature could be imaged with higher spatial resolution than in vivo microscopic computed tomography. Furthermore, imaging during 26 days revealed a significant increase in hindlimb microvascular density in response to experimentally induced ischemia within the first 8 days of the surgery (P<0.005), which was confirmed by histological analysis of microvascular density. Moreover, the tissue perfusion in the ischemic hindlimb could be quantitatively measured by the dynamic NIR-II method, revealing the temporal kinetics of blood flow recovery that resembled microbead-based blood flowmetry and laser Doppler blood spectroscopy.The penetration depth of millimeters, high spatial resolution, and fast acquisition rate of NIR-II imaging make it a useful imaging tool for murine models of vascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]