Covalent Conjugation of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes with Proteins

Linkage of proteins to carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is fundamentally important for applications of CNTs in medicinal and biological fields, as well as in biosensor or chemically modulated nanoelectronic devices. In this contribution, we provide a detailed protocol for the synthesis and characterization of covalent CNT-protein adducts. Functionalization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with proteins has been achieved by the initial carboxylation of MWCNTs followed by amidation with the desired proteins. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements validated the presence of a covalent linkage between MWCNTs and proteins. The visualization of proteins on the surface of MWCNTs was furthermore achieved using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The protein-conjugated nanocomposites can also be assembled into multidimensional addressable heterostructures through highly specific biomolecular recognition system (e.g., antibody–antigen).