The shell (corona) of molecules, such as DNA, used to disperse a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) affects its optical and physical properties and modulates the response of those properties to its environment.  In recent years, we, our collaborators, and others, have used sets of SWCNTs with different DNA wrapping sequences for powerful perception-based discrimination of molecules, their enantiomers, and even disease (cancer) detection and classification{1-3]. Robust commercial development of biosensors from this technology, however, will require robust methods for quality control (repeatability and reproducibility), developed methods for extracting the modulating biomarkers (often unknown), and improved determination of the perception mechanism.  Key metrology development is specifically needed with respect to characterization of the dispersant, i.e., DNA, structure on the SWCNT, both initially and in the presence of identified response-inducing biomarkers, and in developing fluorescence-based screening assays using common biomarkers to enable robust quality control and rational biosensor improvement.  Towards these efforts we can produce well defined nanotube samples, including specification to the single (n,m) species and enantiomeric handedness level, with known length distributions and purities, and with arbitrary DNA-sequence wrapping.  Research proposals targeting metrology development along or related to this framework for biosensing applications are solicited.

[1] De los Santos, Z. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 49, 20628–20632.  [2] Kim et al., Nature Biomed. Eng. 2022, 6, 267–275. [3] Goerzen et al. Nature Nanotech. 2026, 21, 277–287.

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