Concentration of lysozyme/single-walled carbon nanotube dispersions

Abstract

The dispersion of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) in aqueous solutions of biological materials enables the production of bulk films and fibers that combine natural biological activity with SWNT’s intrinsic mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. In this work, we report the rheology and phase behavior of concentrated lysozyme (LSZ)/SWNT dispersions. Even at low concentration, the LSZ’s globular structure causes a deviation from the rheological behavior expected of rigid rods such as SWNT. With increasing concentration, stabilized SWNT typically form lyotropic liquid crystalline phases. However, in this case, the LSZ results in depletion attraction and the formation of large dense SWNT aggregates surrounded by a LSZ network. At intermediate concentrations, the microstructure and rheological properties are a complex function of the initial dispersion state, the absolute concentrations, and the LSZ to SWNT ratio. The rheological effects of concentrating mixtures comprised of aggregates, a range of bundle sizes, and individual SWNT were compared to the effects of concentrating supernatants comprised solely of individual SWNT and small bundles. In general, lysozyme concentration has the greatest impact on dispersion viscoelasticity. However, the inherent viscosity was a function of SWNT concentration; data from both initial mixtures and supernatants spanning two orders of magnitude in concentration could be collapsed onto a single master curve. This work provides a foundation for exploring the behavior of other globular protein–SWNT dispersions.