title: Enzymatic degradation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes.
abstract: Because of their unique properties, carbon nanotubes and, in particular, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been used for the development of advanced composite and catalyst materials. Despite their growing commercial applications and increased production, the potential environmental and toxicological impacts of MWNTs are not fully understood; however, many reports suggest that they may be toxic. Therefore, a need exists to develop protocols for effective and safe degradation of MWNTs. In this article, we investigated the effect of chemical functionalization of MWNTs on their enzymatic degradation with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). We investigated HRP/H(2)O(2) degradation of purified, oxidized, and nitrogen-doped MWNTs and proposed a layer-by-layer degradation mechanism of nanotubes facilitated by side wall defects. These results provide a better understanding of the interaction between HRP and carbon nanotubes and suggest an eco-friendly way of mitigating the environmental impact of nanotubes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Brett L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Star
mesh_terms: D055162:Biocatalysis; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism*; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase; D009584:Nitrogen