DFT studies of functionalized zigzag and armchair boron nitride nanotubes as nanovectors for drug delivery of collagen amino acids

Abstract

The interaction of collagen amino acids with (5, 5) armchair and (9, 0) zigzag single-walled boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are studied using density functional theory. Our results show that the BNNTs can act as a suitable drug delivery vehicle of collagen amino acids within biological systems. DFT-LDA/DNP calculations revealed that the binding and solvation energies were negative for (5, 5)/(9, 0) BNNTs–collagen amino acid complexes implying the thermodynamic favorability and spontaneous interactions of collagen amino acids with BNNTs sidewall. These results were extremely relevant in order to identify the potential applications of functionalized BNNTs as drug delivery systems.