Preparation and Characterization of Individual\nPeptide-Wrapped Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

Two challenges for effectively exploiting the remarkable properties of single-walled carbon\nnanotubes (SWNTs) are the isolation of intact individual nanotubes from the raw material and the assembly\nof these isolated SWNTs into useful structures. In this study, we present atomic force microscopy (AFM)\nevidence that we can isolate individual peptide-wrapped SWNTs, possibly connected end-to-end into long\nfibrillar structures, using an amphiphilic α-helical peptide, termed nano-1. Transmission electron microscopy\n(TEM) and well-resolved absorption spectral features further corroborate nano-1's ability to debundle SWNTs\nin aqueous solution. Peptide-assisted assembly of SWNT structures, specifically in the form of Y-, X-, and\nintraloop junctions, was observed in the AFM and TEM images.