REU/RET Project

Brent Little
University: Brigham Young University
Mentor in UCF: Dr. D. Walters - Physics

Interaction Between Biomolecules and Inorganic Substrates

To utilize bottom-up methods with carbon nanotubes, selective binding to nanotubes of different chirality is needed. A phage-display library of 7-mer sequences was panned against HIPCO carbon nanotubes, Tubes@Rice carbon nanotubes, and highly ordered pyrolytic graphite. Three round of panning produced two consensus sequences that bind to carbon nanotubes. These sequences were relatively unlikely to appear by chance. Using the atomic force microscope, images were produced that provide evidence of binding to nanotubes over bare mica. A model of clone 4b was computer generated and possible binding groves were measured.