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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Localization and Relative Quantification of Carbon Nanotubes in Cells with Multispectral Imaging Flow Cytometry
Published on: December 12, 2013
Single carbon nanotube optical spectroscopy
Achim Hartschuh1, Hermenegildo N Pedrosa, Jeffrey Peterson
1Physikalische Chemie I, Universität Siegen 57068 Siegen (Germany).
Abstract:
This Minireview discusses novel insights into the electronic structure of carbon nanotubes obtained using single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy. Fluorescence spectra from single nanotubes are well described by a single, Lorentzian lineshape. Nanotubes with identical structures fluoresce with different energies due to local electronic perturbations. Carbon nanotube fluorescence unexpectedly does not-show any intensity or spectral fluctuations at 300 K The lack of intensity blinking or bleaching demonstrates that carbon nanotubes have the potential to provide a stable, single-molecule infrared photon source, allowing for the exciting possibility of applications in quantum optics and biophotonics.
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