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Grafting Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes with Polystyrene to Enable Self-Assembly and Anisotropic Patchiness
Published on: April 1, 2018
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Interaction between functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes and MS2 bacteriophages in water
Anna E Merryman1, Indu Venu Sabaraya1, Lewis Stetson Rowles1
1Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America.
The Science of the Total Environment
|April 26, 2019
Summary
Interactions between carbon nanotubes and viruses like MS2 bacteriophages significantly impact their environmental transport. High virus concentrations enhance nanotube stability in water, affecting fate and transport.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Nanotechnology
- Microbiology
Background:
- Carbon nanomaterials' environmental fate depends on interactions with aquatic particulates.
- Viruses, with charged and hydrophobic surfaces, can influence nanomaterial behavior and vice versa.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the interfacial interaction and heteroaggregation of acid-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) with MS2 bacteriophages.
- To investigate the influence of mono- and di-valent cations and Suwannee River humic acid (SRHA) on these interactions.
Main Methods:
- Systematic evaluation of MWNT-MS2 heteroaggregation under varying ionic conditions and presence of SRHA.
- Analysis of attachment mechanisms, including electrostatic attraction and hydrophobic interactions.
Main Results:
- High MS2 bacteriophage concentrations (MWNT:MS2 of 100:1) led to exceptional MWNT stability, even in high salinity.
- Lower MS2 concentrations showed less significant suppression of MWNT heteroaggregation.
- Suwannee River humic acid also enhanced stability, but dominated heteroaggregation at lower MS2 concentrations.
Conclusions:
- Preferential attachment of MS2 capsids to MWNTs, mediated by electrostatic and hydrophobic forces, enhances MWNT stability.
- Interactions between viruses and carbon nanomaterials can significantly influence the environmental transport of both in aquatic systems.
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