Carbon Nanotube Development Service
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been used for a variety of biomedical applications, including the delivery of nucleic acids for gene therapy purposes. Our company is committed to providing our customers with CNT development services, including customized surface modification or functionalization of CNTs to allow complex formation between these potential carriers and DNA. Our service of developing CNTs as gene therapy vectors may provide a novel vision for gene therapy for rare diseases.
Background
CNTs are a new type of nanomaterial that is attracting attention as gene therapy vectors due to their unique advantages such as large aspect ratio, good biocompatibility, superior mechanical properties, and ease of functionalization. Despite their promising advantages, the use of primitive CNTs in biomedical applications has been limited by their highly hydrophobic surface, which results in poor water solubility and dispersion. Recent studies have shown that CNTs can be surface modified or functionalized using a variety of physicochemical means, making them a new and ideal gene transfer vector. CNTs can be used as excellent carriers for plasmid DNA, small interfering RNA (siRNA), and microRNA with different types of functionalized modifications (e.g. polycations).
Fig. 1Schematic illustration of DOX-SPBB-siRNA nanocarriers for treating lung cancer cells. (Cao Y, et al., 2019)
Our Services
We help customers synthesize various types of surface-modified CNTs for the delivery of genetic material. Our services include, but are not limited to:
- Preparation of CNTs
We provide multiple advanced methods for the laboratory scale and bulk industrial preparation of diverse types of CNTs.- Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods, include plasma-enhanced CVD, laser-assisted CVD, thermal CVD, and high-pressure CVD.
- Electric arc discharge (EAD) method, allows the production of CNTs of superior quality with high tensile strength.
- Laser ablation (LA) method, which is suitable for laboratory production of both single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs).
- We also provide other methods such as the cobalt-molybdenum catalytic (CoMoCat) process, fluidized-bed synthesis, and flame synthesis for bulk-scale manufacturing of CNTs.
- Shortening of carbon nanotubes by oxidative treatment with potassium permanganate
- Functionalization of CNTs
SWCNTs or MWCNTs are the structural backbones on which a large number of surface modifications can be made to develop effective gene therapy vectors. We offer our customers CNT modifications through covalent and non-covalent methods to enhance biocompatibility, reduce toxicity, increase the propensity to complex with nucleic acids, and improve gene transfer efficiency.
We provide various surface-modified CNTs for the delivery of genetic materials, which are chemically functionalized with PEI and PAMAM hybrids. And we also provide other cationic surface functionalizations, including cationic glycopolymers, organic compounds with amine functional groups such as ethylenediamine and poly(diallyldimethylammonium)chloride-hexamethylenediamine (PDDA-HMDA), phospholipid–PEG conjugates, lipids and lysine dendrimers such as 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[amino(polyethylene glycol)] (DSPE-PEG-amine), polyamino-acid sequences, chitosan, and polyamidoamine dendrimers.
- Characterization of the modified CNTs
Applications
Our CNT development and surface modification services make it an ideal choice for delivering a whole host of nucleic acids.
Our company focuses on a variety of nanoparticle surface modification methods to help our customers develop CNTs as effective gene vectors. If you need scientific assistance in the synthesis, characterization, and gene delivery application of CNTs, please contact us for more details.
Reference
- Cao, Y.; et al. Enhanced lysosomal escape of pH-responsive polyethylenimine–betaine functionalized carbon nanotube for the codelivery of survivin small interfering RNA and doxorubicin. ACS applied materials & interfaces, 2019, 11(10): 9763-9776.
All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.
