Non-cytotoxic carbon nanocapsules synthesized via one-pot filling and end-closing of multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Filled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) find application in a variety of fields that expand from sensors to supercapacitors going through targeted therapies. Bulk filling of CNTs in general results in samples that contain a large amount of non-encapsulated material external to the CNTs. The presence of exter...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martincic, Markus, Vranic, Sandra|||0000-0002-6653-7156, Pach, Elzbieta|||0000-0001-9587-3768, Sandoval, Stefania|||0000-0002-0050-7501, Ballesteros, Belén|||0000-0002-1958-8911, Kostarelos, Kostas|||0000-0002-2224-6672, Tobias, Gerard|||0000-0001-7116-2152
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:218059
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/218059
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.006
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Biomedical fields
Carbon nanocapsules
Encapsulated compounds
Encapsulated materials
Filled carbon nanotubes
Inorganic hybrids
Multi-walled CNTs
Strong interaction
Descripción
Sumario:Filled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) find application in a variety of fields that expand from sensors to supercapacitors going through targeted therapies. Bulk filling of CNTs in general results in samples that contain a large amount of non-encapsulated material external to the CNTs. The presence of external material can dominate the properties of the resulting hybrids and can also induce side effects when employed in the biomedical field. Unless the encapsulated payloads have a strong interaction with the inner CNT walls, an additional step is required to block the ends of the CNTs thus allowing the selective removal of the non-encapsulated compounds while preserving the inner cargo. Herein we present a fast, easy and versatile approach that allows both filling (NaI, KI, BaI, GdCl and SmCl) and end-closing of multi-walled CNTs in a single-step, forming "carbon nanocapsules". Remarkably the encapsulation of GdCl and SmCl leads to the formation of tubular van der Waals heterostructures. The prepared nanocapsules are efficiently internalized by cells without inducing cytotoxicity, thus presenting a safe tool for the delivery of therapeutic and dianostic agents to cells. The synergies of novel carbon and inorganic hybrid materials can be explored using the present approach.