Angew.Chem.Int.Ed.http://doi.org/f27ccx(2015)
Now, Timothy Swager and colleagues from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have fabricated a chemiresistive carbon nanotube–metalloporphyrin composite that is able to detect biogenic amines at sub-ppm concentrations. Chemiresistivity is a well-known property of carbon nanotubes, but here Swager and colleagues significantly increased their sensitivity by non-covalently functionalizing them, with electron deficient cobalt porphyrins — such species adhere well to the walls of carbon nanotubes and are known to have an affinity for amines. It seems that binding of amines to the cobalt centre elicits an increase in the resistivity of the underlying carbon nanotube, which is indicative of the level of exposure.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
