Nanocarbon and Its Bioactivity

Aim of this topic is the production, characterization, modification and biological properties investigation of carbon based nanostructured materials for biosensing applications and in particular for the development of a DNA detection device.The first stage  is aimed to produce worthwhile quantities of vertically well-oriented multi-walled carbon nanotubes on uncoated silicon substrates by a simple and economical chemical vapor deposition process.

The as-grown material will be characterized and then chemically modified Subsequently. The chemical modification is the reason of the tuning of the chemical properties of the CNTs and It allows a different response to different biomolecules. Several functionalization treatments will be attempted to tailor the CNT properties for the foreseen applications. the chemical insertion of nucleic acids, proteins and other biological molecules on CNTs consequently will make possible to produce nano-biological sensors which is allowed by the presence of reactive groups on the material surface. The ferromagnetic particles trapped inside the CNT hollow cavities, can enable the production of systems that can migrate below a magnetic field effect.

To make them biocompatible and useful as biosensors or as coatings for biomedical devices, The interaction of biomolecules with CNTs will be studied. The interaction mechanisms between CNT surface and blood are characterized by a complex series of events that are yet not clearly understood. The aim of this research activity is to investigate the relationship between surface properties (chemistry, hydrophobicity-hydrophilicity and topography) and biological responses such as the composition and structure of the adsorbed plasma protein layer and platelet adhesion/activation properties. In this work the behavior of CNTs compared to various forms of carbon (pyrolitic carbon, nanocrystalline graphite and amorphous carbon) will be investigated.Besides the study of conformation and orientation of adherent proteins, the adhesion extent of various DNA (oligonucleotides, genomic DNA) structures will be evaluated to gain fundamental knowledge useful for both the development of CNT based biosensors and the development of an innovative materials for genomic DNA isolation (see Latemar project on Lab-on-Chip).