Utilization of Bacteriophages as Molecular Label

Abstract

We proof that nanomaterials can be successfully marked with relatively small amounts of purified bacteriophages acting as a molecular bar code label. Bacteriophages are DNA protected by a proteinous hull. The DNA fraction of the bacteriophages particle offers a nearly unlimited potential to encode information into the label. The information included in the molecular label can be read using PCR driven amplification. We show, how bacteriophage particles are easily applied to label a nanoscaled bulk material e.g., multi walled carbon nanotubes.