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Materials science

Nanotubes sorted using DNA

Nature volume 460, pages 186–187 (2009)Cite this article

A vast number of DNA sequences are possible, and so finding the few that bind to a particular non-DNA entity is a daunting task. A systematic search algorithm has found sequences that target specific carbon nanotubes.

For nearly two decades, the carbon nanotube has been the poster child of nanotechnology. Researchers have used its exemplary physical and chemical properties in a diverse range of prototype devices, spanning such technologies as alternative energy, biotechnology and computing. Underlying this success is the exquisite sensitivity of the nanotubes' properties to their physical size and atomic structure. However, this sensitivity also creates a fundamental problem: because current syntheses of carbon nanotubes lack atomic-level control, samples produced are mixtures of nanotubes of different sizes and atomic geometries, and thus possess non-uniform properties. This non-uniformity has confounded their use in large-scale commercial applications, which invariably require materials that have consistent, reproducible performance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mark C. Hersam is in the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering, and of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3108, USA. m-hersam@northwestern.edu,

    Mark C. Hersam

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  1. Mark C. Hersam
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Hersam, M. Nanotubes sorted using DNA. Nature 460, 186–187 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/460186a

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