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Nano Research 2011, 4(4): 393-404 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-011-0094-0
Research Article | Issue | Published: 11 January 2011

Effects of Gamma Irradiation for Sterilization on Aqueous Dispersions of Length Sorted Carbon Nanotubes

Show Author's Information Jeffrey A. Fagan1( ),  Nancy J. Lin1,  Rolf Zeisler2,  Angela R. Hight Walker3
Polymers DivisionNational Institute of Standards and TechnologyGaithersburgMD20899USA
Analytical Chemistry DivisionNational Institute of Standards and TechnologyGaithersburgMD20899USA
Optical Technology DivisionNational Institute of Standards and TechnologyGaithersburgMD20899USA
Keywords:
dispersion, Nanotube, sterilization, single-wall nanotube (SWNT), single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT), gamma irradiation
Cite this article:
Fagan JA, Lin NJ, Zeisler R, et al. Effects of Gamma Irradiation for Sterilization on Aqueous Dispersions of Length Sorted Carbon Nanotubes. Nano Research, 2011, 4(4): 393-404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-011-0094-0
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

There is currently great interest in the potential use of carbon nanotubes as delivery vessels for nanotherapeutics and other medical applications. However, no data are available on the effects of sterilization methods on the properties of nanotube dispersions, the form in which most medical applications will be processed. Here we show the effects of gamma irradiation from a 60Co source on the dispersion and optical properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes in aqueous dispersion. Samples of different length-refined populations were sealed in ampoules and exposed to a dose of approximately 28 kGy, a level sufficient to ensure sterility of the dispersions. In contrast to literature results for solid-phase nanotube samples, the effects of gamma irradiation on the dispersion and optical properties of the nanotube samples were found to be minimal. Based on these results, gamma irradiation appears sufficiently non-destructive to be industrially useful for the sterilization of nanotube dispersions.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Effects of Gamma Irradiation for Sterilization on Aqueous Dispersions of Length Sorted Carbon Nanotubes

Show Author's information Jeffrey A. Fagan1( ), Nancy J. Lin1, Rolf Zeisler2, Angela R. Hight Walker3
Polymers DivisionNational Institute of Standards and TechnologyGaithersburgMD20899USA
Analytical Chemistry DivisionNational Institute of Standards and TechnologyGaithersburgMD20899USA
Optical Technology DivisionNational Institute of Standards and TechnologyGaithersburgMD20899USA

Abstract

There is currently great interest in the potential use of carbon nanotubes as delivery vessels for nanotherapeutics and other medical applications. However, no data are available on the effects of sterilization methods on the properties of nanotube dispersions, the form in which most medical applications will be processed. Here we show the effects of gamma irradiation from a 60Co source on the dispersion and optical properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes in aqueous dispersion. Samples of different length-refined populations were sealed in ampoules and exposed to a dose of approximately 28 kGy, a level sufficient to ensure sterility of the dispersions. In contrast to literature results for solid-phase nanotube samples, the effects of gamma irradiation on the dispersion and optical properties of the nanotube samples were found to be minimal. Based on these results, gamma irradiation appears sufficiently non-destructive to be industrially useful for the sterilization of nanotube dispersions.

Keywords: dispersion, Nanotube, sterilization, single-wall nanotube (SWNT), single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT), gamma irradiation

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Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 08 December 2010
Revised: 16 December 2010
Accepted: 17 December 2010
Published: 11 January 2011
Issue date: April 2011

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mark Cronise, Curt Fales, and Jim Fort for their services and help in the ampouling and irradiation of the samples used in this work, as well as Dr. Alison Kraigsley for discussion on sterility testing.

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