Robust technique for dispersion of single-walled carbon nanotubes in aqueous solutions with tRNA

Abstract

Stable dispersions of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) demonstrated great prospects for applications in biomedical engineering, including bioelectronics, nanoparticle-based drug delivery and imaging in vivo. Prolonged stability of individual SWCNTs in suspensions is crucial for these applications. Here we report the method for efficient stabilization of SWCNT dispersions with transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA). We optimized the SWCNTs/tRNA mass ratio for dispersion of CoMoCAT and HiPCO tubes and studied them by optical absorbance and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Cryo-TEM and AFM imaging and PL spectroscopy of suspensions prepared even without any ultrasonic treatment confirmed the presence of individual SWCNTs in the dispersions. We propose a straightforward SWCNT/tRNA dipsersion preparation by either mild sonication or even without ultrasonic treatment will boost the biomedical applications due to simplicity of the procedure and minimal damage of tRNA and SWCNTs.