Unique aggregation of anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) spores by sugar-coated single-walled carbon nanotubes.
There has been significant interest in the binding of anthrax spores by molecular species, but with only limited success. Proteins and more recently peptides were used. However, despite the known presence of carbohydrates on the spore surface, carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions have hardly been explored likely because of the lack of required specific platform for synthetic carbohydrates. We report the successful use of single-walled carbon nanotubes as a truly unique scaffold for displaying multivalent monosaccharide ligands that bind effectively to anthrax spores with divalent cation mediation to cause significant spore aggregation. The work should have far-reaching implications in development of countermeasure technologies.
Wang
Haifang
H
Department of Chemistry and Laboratory for Emerging Materials and Technology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634-0973, USA.
Gu
Lingrong
L
Lin
Yi
Y
Lu
Fushen
F
Meziani
Mohammed J
MJ
Luo
Pengju G
PG
Wang
Wei
W
Cao
Li
L
Sun
Ya-Ping
YP
D000818:Animals; D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism
D002241:Carbohydrates; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon