title: Boron nitride nanotubes are noncytotoxic and can be functionalized for interaction with proteins and cells.
abstract: We report the discovery that boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), isosteres of CNTs with unique physical properties, are inherently noncytotoxic. Furthermore, we developed a biomemetic coating strategy to interface BNNTs with proteins and cells. Finally, we showed that BNNTs can deliver DNA oligomers to the interior of cells with no apparent toxicity. This work suggests that BNNTs may be superior to CNTs for use as biological probes and in biomaterials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rousseas
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Okawa
authors.forename: Zev
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gartner
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zettl
authors.forename: Carolyn R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Bertozzi
mesh_terms: D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry*; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001896:Boron Compounds; D011506:Proteins; C017282:boron nitride