title: Carbon nanotube-liposome supramolecular nanotrains for intelligent molecular-transport systems.
abstract: Biological network systems, such as inter- and intra-cellular signalling systems, are handled in a sophisticated manner by the transport of molecular information. Over the past few decades, there has been a growing interest in the development of synthetic molecular-transport systems. However, several key technologies have not been sufficiently realized to achieve optimum performance of transportation methods. Here we show that a new type of supramolecular system comprising of carbon nanotubes and liposomes enables the directional transport and controlled release of carrier molecules, and allows an enzymatic reaction at a desired area. The study highlights important progress that has been made towards the development of biomimetic molecular-transport systems and various lab-on-a-chip applications, such as medical diagnosis, sensors, bionic computers and artificial biological networks.
authors.affiliation: Health Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 1-8-31 Midorigaoka, Ikeda, Osaka 563-0026, Japan. e-miyako@aist.go.jp
authors.forename: Eijiro
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Miyako
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kono
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yuba
authors.forename: Chie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hosokawa
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hagihara
mesh_terms: D001692:Biological Transport; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D015394:Molecular Structure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008081:Liposomes; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon