title: Molecular recognition using corona phase complexes made of synthetic polymers adsorbed on carbon nanotubes.
abstract: Understanding molecular recognition is of fundamental importance in applications such as therapeutics, chemical catalysis and sensor design. The most common recognition motifs involve biological macromolecules such as antibodies and aptamers. The key to biorecognition consists of a unique three-dimensional structure formed by a folded and constrained bioheteropolymer that creates a binding pocket, or an interface, able to recognize a specific molecule. Here, we show that synthetic heteropolymers, once constrained onto a single-walled carbon nanotube by chemical adsorption, also form a new corona phase that exhibits highly selective recognition for specific molecules. To prove the generality of this phenomenon, we report three examples of heteropolymer-nanotube recognition complexes for riboflavin, L-thyroxine and oestradiol. In each case, the recognition was predicted using a two-dimensional thermodynamic model of surface interactions in which the dissociation constants can be tuned by perturbing the chemical structure of the heteropolymer. Moreover, these complexes can be used as new types of spatiotemporal sensors based on modulation of the carbon nanotube photoemission in the near-infrared, as we show by tracking riboflavin diffusion in murine macrophages.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA [2].
authors.forename: Jingqing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Markita P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Landry
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Barone
authors.forename: Jong-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Shangchao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Zachary W
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Ulissi
authors.forename: Dahua
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.forename: Ardemis A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Boghossian
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Hilmer
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rwei
authors.forename: Allison C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Hinckley
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kruss
authors.forename: Mia A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Shandell
authors.forename: Nitish
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blake
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Şen
authors.forename: Selda
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Şen
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Croy
authors.forename: Deyu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Kyungsuk
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yum
authors.forename: Jin-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Heller
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Essigmann
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blankschtein
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Strano
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000818:Animals; D004958:Estradiol / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D051379:Mice; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012256:Riboflavin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D011108:Polymers; D004958:Estradiol; D013974:Thyroxine; D012256:Riboflavin