Carbon nanotubes as near-infrared agents for photothermal nanotherapy of bacterial infections

AGRO 117

Jin-Woo Kim, jwkim@uark.edu, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701 and Vladimir P. Zharov, zharovvladimirp@uams.edu, Philips Classic Laser Laboratories, The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) would provide new avenues for overcoming challenges to realize non-invasive antimicrobial treatment of bacterial infections. In this study, Escherichia coli was used as a model bacterium to evaluate the CNTs' potential for photothermal (PT) nanotherapy of bacterial infections. Results demonstrate great potentials of CNTs for non-invasive PT antimicrobial nanotherapy to cause irreparable damage to disease-causing pathogens. High temperatures accompanied by bubble-formation phenomena around the clustered CNTs at the cell surfaces were considered to be responsible for the effective cell damages after multi-pulse near-infrared (NIR) irradiation at a wavelength of 1064 nm. The key characteristics that made CNTs enabling PT agents were their capability to self-assemble as clusters at the cell surface and their inherent NIR responsiveness. This technology, uniquely combining laser and nanotechnology, can be useful for other applications that require bacterial removal, such as drinking water treatment and food processing.
 

Nanotechnology in Agriculture
8:30 AM-11:40 AM, Wednesday, August 22, 2007 BCEC -- 259A, Oral

Division of Agrochemicals

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007