Interactions between Carbon Nanotubes and Phospholipid Membranes
This project is now supported by the US National Science Foundation.
Rationale and Goals
The discovery of carbon nanotubes corresponds to the birthdate of the nanotechnology revolution. The intrinsic properties of these fascinating new materials have raised the interest of the entire reasearch community because of the promise of new materials for a number of practical applications (e.g., high-efficiency solar cells, cancer treatment, reinforced plastics,...)
Unfortunately, a number of reports, sometimes controversial, have highlighted the possibility that carbon nanotubes affect living organisms. The goal of this project is to carefully examine the interactions between carbon nanotubes and phospholipid bilayers, a simplified representation of a cellular membrane.