DNA Coated Nanotubes Are Potential Biosensors

When these tubes were immersed in a solution containing complementary single-stranded DNA, a hypsochromic shift in the frequency of near-infrared fluorescence of 2 meV, with detection sensitivity of 6 nM, was observed. This change could be measured optically and did not require the passage of voltage or current through the system. These findings were published in the February 17, 2006, online edition of Nano Letters.

"We have successfully demonstrated the optical detection of selective DNA hybridization on the surface of a nanotube,” said senior author Dr. Micharel Strano, professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois. "This work opens possibilities for new types of nanotube-based sensing and sequencing technologies.”


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