Applicability of carbon and boron nitride nanotubes as biosensors: Effect of biomolecular adsorption on the transport properties of carbon and boron nitride nanotubes
Abstract
The effect of molecular adsorption on the transport properties of single walled carbon and boron nitride nanotubes (CNTs and BNNTs) is investigated using density functional theory and non-equilibrium Green's function methods. The calculated I-V characteristics predict noticeable changes in the conductivity of semiconducting BNNTs due to physisorption of nucleic acid base molecules. Specifically, guanine which binds to the side wall of BNNT significantly enhances its conductivity by introducing conduction channels near the Fermi energy of the bioconjugated system. For metallic CNTs, a large background current masks relatively small changes in current due to the biomolecular adsorption. The results therefore suggest the suitability of BNNTs for biosensing applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2013
- Source ID
- 10.1063/1.4801442
Entities
People
- Ravindra Pandey
- S. Gowtham
- Saikat Mukhopadhyay
- Shashi P. Karna
- Xiaoliang Zhong
Organizations
- Army Research Office
- Michigan Technological University
- United States Army Research Laboratory