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Science 2 May 2003:
Vol. 300. no. 5620, pp. 775 - 778
DOI: 10.1126/science.1080848
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Reports

Supramolecular Self-Assembly of Lipid Derivatives on Carbon Nanotubes

Cyrille Richard,1 Fabrice Balavoine,1 Patrick Schultz,2 Thomas W. Ebbesen,3 Charles Mioskowski1,4*

Images of the assembly of surfactants and synthetic lipids on the surface of carbon nanotubes were obtained by transmission electron microscopy. Above the critical micellar concentration, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) forms supramolecular structures made of rolled-up half-cylinders on the nanotube surface. Depending on the symmetry and the diameter of the carbon nanotube, we observed rings, helices, or double helices. Similar self-assemblies were also obtained with several synthetic single-chain lipids designed for the immobilization of histidine-tagged proteins. At the nanotube-water interface, permanent assemblies were produced from mixed micelles of SDS and different water-insoluble double-chain lipids after dialysis of the surfactant. Such arrangements could be further exploited for the development of new biosensors and bioelectronic nanomaterials.

1 CEA-Saclay, Service de Marquage Moléculaire et de Chimie Bioorganique, Bât 547, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France.
2 Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch Cedex, France.
3 ISIS, Université Louis Pasteur, 8 Rue Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
4 Faculté de Pharmacie, CNRS UMR 7514, 74 Route du Rhin, BP 24, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mioskow{at}aspirine.u-strasbg.fr

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Self-Assembly of Proteins into Designed Networks.
P. Ringler and G. E. Schulz (2003)
Science 302, 106-109
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)