Immobilization of Proteins on Boron Nitride Nanotubes.

The article reports that proteins can be immobilized on boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). It suggests that there is a natural affinity of proteins to BNNTs--they can be immobilized on BNNT directly, without using an additional coupling reagent. It also reports that the effect of protein immobilization on BNNTs was studied using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersion spectroscopy. It argues that protein immobilization may be due to carboxylation of BNNT-bound amino groups or prominent tube/protein electrostatic interactions. However, it suggests the use of noncovalently functionalized BNNTs for effective immobilization of proteins.