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Insertion of short amino-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes into phospholipid bilayer occurs by passive diffusion.

ABSTRACT: Carbon nanotubes have been proposed to be efficient nanovectors able to deliver genetic or therapeutic cargo into living cells. However, a direct evidence of the molecular mechanism of their translocation across cell membranes is still needed. Here, we report on an extensive computational study of short (5 nm length) pristine and functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes uptake by phospholipid bilayer models using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. Our data support the hypothesis of a direct translocation of the nanotubes through the phospholipid membrane. We find that insertion of neat nanotubes within the bilayer is a "nanoneedle" like process, which can often be divided in three consecutive steps: landing and floating, penetration of the lipid headgroup area and finally sliding into the membrane core. The presence of functional groups at moderate concentrations does not modify the overall scheme of diffusion mechanism, provided that their deprotonated state favors translocation through the lipid bilayer.

SUBMITTER: Kraszewski S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3398044 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Insertion of short amino-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes into phospholipid bilayer occurs by passive diffusion.

Kraszewski Sebastian S Bianco Alberto A Tarek Mounir M Ramseyer Christophe C

PloS one 20120716 7

Carbon nanotubes have been proposed to be efficient nanovectors able to deliver genetic or therapeutic cargo into living cells. However, a direct evidence of the molecular mechanism of their translocation across cell membranes is still needed. Here, we report on an extensive computational study of short (5 nm length) pristine and functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes uptake by phospholipid bilayer models using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. Our data support the hypothesis of a ...[more]

PMID: 22815794

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Project description:Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been used extensively for sensor fabrication due to its high surface to volume ratio, nanosized structure and interesting electronic property. Lack of selectivity is a major limitation for SWNTs-based sensors. However, surface modification of SWNTs with a suitable molecular recognition system can enhance the sensitivity. On the other hand, porphyrins have been widely investigated as functional materials for chemical sensor fabrication due to their several unique and interesting physico-chemical properties. Structural differences between free-base and metal substituted porphyrins make them suitable for improving selectivity of sensors. However, their poor conductivity is an impediment in fabrication of prophyrin-based chemiresistor sensors. The present attempt is to resolve these issues by combining freebase- and metallo-porphyrins with SWNTs to fabricate SWNTs-porphyrin hybrid chemiresistor sensor arrays for monitoring volatile organic carbons (VOCs) in air. Differences in sensing performance were noticed for porphyrin with different functional group and with different central metal atom. The mechanistic study for acetone sensing was done using field-effect transistor (FET) measurements and revealed that the sensing mechanism of ruthenium octaethyl porphyrin hybrid device was governed by electrostatic gating effect, whereas iron tetraphenyl porphyrin hybrid device was governed by electrostatic gating and Schottky barrier modulation in combination. Further, the recorded electronic responses for all hybrid sensors were analyzed using a pattern-recognition analysis tool. The pattern-recognition analysis confirmed a definite pattern in response for different hybrid material and could efficiently differentiate analytes from one another. This discriminating capability of the hybrid nanosensor devices open up the possibilities for further development of highly dense nanosensor array with suitable porphyrin for E-nose application.

Dataset Information

Insertion of short amino-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes into phospholipid bilayer occurs by passive diffusion.

Publications

Insertion of short amino-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes into phospholipid bilayer occurs by passive diffusion.

Similar Datasets

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