Nanotubes + lysozyme = antimicrobial coating

The research project combined one of the most durable materials with one of the strongest disinfectants. As a result, the researchers obtained an extremely durable antibacterial coating that can be used in medicine, aerospace engineering and household.

Virginia A. Davis and Alexander Simonian from Auburn University proceeded from the emerging requirements for the development of new antibacterial coatings that can prevent the occurrence and development of infections. To solve this problem, the researchers decided to apply a natural enzyme lysozyme (lysozyme) to a hard surface. For a long time, it was not possible to find a material strong enough for prolonged retention of the enzyme.

And yet a successful solution was found. The enzyme was immobilized on the surface of single-walled carbon nanotubes, characterized by exceptional strength. Single-walled carbon nanotubes were able to absorb lysozyme and retain it for a time much longer than it takes for other antimicrobial surfaces to lose their bactericidal activity.

The researchers note that their work clearly demonstrates the possibilities of molecular design and the production of structural materials that are a hybrid of carbon nanotubes and natural polymers.

ChemPort.Ru according to the materials Nano Lett., 2008, DOI: 10.1021/nl080522t

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