Sonochemical Synthesis and Ion Transport Properties of Surfactant-Stabilized Carbon Nanotube Porins

Carbon nanotube porins (CNTPs), short segments of carbon nanotubes stabilized by a lipid coating, are a promising example of artificial membrane channels that mimic a number of key behaviors of biological ion channels. While the lipid-assisted synthesis of CNTPs may facilitate their subsequent incorporation into lipid bilayers, it limits the applicability of these pores in other self-assembled membrane materials and also precludes the use of large-scale purified CNT feedstocks. Here we demonstrate that CNTPs can be synthesized by sonochemical cutting of long CNT feedstocks in the presence of different surfactants, producing CNTS with transport properties identical with those obtained by the lipid-assisted procedure. Our results open up a wide variety of synthetic routes for CNTP production.