Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes Are a New Class of Ion Channel Blockers

Ki Ho Park, Manish Chhowalla, Zafar Iqbal, Federico Sesti

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

319 Scopus citations

Abstract

Here we identify a novel class of biological membrane ion channel blockers called single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). SWNTs with diameter distributions peaked at ∼0.9 and 1.3 nm, C60 fullerenes, multi wall nanotubes (MWNTs), and hyperfullerenes (nano-"onions") were synthesized by several techniques and applied to diverse channel types heterologously expressed in mammalian cells. External as-fabricated and purified SWNTs blocked K+ channel subunits in a dose-dependent manner. Blockage was dependent on the shape and dimensions of the nanoparticles used and did not require any electrochemical interaction. SWNTs were more effective than the spherical fullerenes and, for both, diameter was the determining factor. These findings postulate new uses for SWNTs in biological applications and provide unexpected insights into the current view of mechanisms governing the interaction of ion channels with blocking molecules.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)50212-50216
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume278
Issue number50
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 12 2003

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes Are a New Class of Ion Channel Blockers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this