Development of functionalized single walled carbon nanotubes based triacylglycerol acylhydrolases

Water soluble functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are extensively employed for biomedical applications in recent times. Their firmness in various environments is strongly depending on the functional groups anchored on the surface of nanotubes. In the present study, single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are functionalized with triacylglycerol acylhydrolases (TGAD) enzyme for the first time in order to render SWNTs soluble in a plethora of solvents, improve their biocompatibility and conjugation with further molecules. The functionalized SWNTs-TGAD nanostructures were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, XPS elemental analysis and transmission electron microscopy. The results elucidated the existence of TGAD enzyme on the surface of SWNTs. This enzyme improved the solubility and the graphitization of the SWNTs compared to conventional function groups. The present study opens a novel avenue for reconnaissance and synthesizing CNT-based enzymatic functional groups for biomedical devices with worthwhile characteristics and structures. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.