Carbon nanotubes have served as a foundational material system across my research—supporting advances in molecular sensing, imaging, and translational diagnostics. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) offer distinct optical, vibrational, and electronic properties that enable sensitive, real-time measurement in biologically complex environments. My work with SWCNTs spans computational modeling, photophysical characterization, nanosensor development, and integration into in vivo systems.
Foundational Studies in Structure, Electronics, and Optical Behavior: Initial studies focused on understanding and engineering the intrinsic properties of carbon nanotubes. We used computational chemistry to model the electronic effects of transition metal doping in SWCNTs (Journal of Computational and Theoretical Nanoscience, 2004), and co-invented porphyrin–nanotube hybrids that were awarded a U.S. patent in 2010. These efforts explored how electronic and magnetic properties could be tuned for molecular electronics and photonic devices. We developed asymmetric SWCNT–iron oxide nanoparticle complexes for multimodal imaging across optical, magnetic, and acoustic domains (Nano Letters, 2007). Later work investigated how laser excitation fluence modulates SWCNT photoluminescence (ECS Meeting Abstracts, 2023), identifying an overlooked but critical parameter for optical sensor optimization.
Engineering Platforms for Sensing and Imaging: With these foundations, I contributed to the design of high-speed confocal Raman imaging workflows to monitor intracellular nanotube uptake in real time (Nano Letters, 2012). This demonstrated the feasibility of label-free, multiplexed tracking of carbon nanotube species in live cells. Drawing on insights from photophysics and vibrational response, I helped develop corona phase–functionalized SWCNT sensors for selective molecular detection. These were adapted to detect redox-active metabolites and chemotherapeutics, including temozolomide and 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR) (ACS Nano, 2023), as well as essential micronutrients like vitamins B1 and B2 (Nano Letters, 2021).
Translational Deployment and Biosensing Integration: These sensing platforms were integrated into preclinical models for in vivo monitoring of oxidative stress and therapeutic response in pancreatic cancer (Cancer Research, 2019), and adapted for continuous biologging in marine organisms (ACS Sensors, 2019). To support clinical integration, I led the development of a fiber-optic benchtop reader for biochemical detection using SWCNTs—resulting in a 2024 U.S. patent. I also contributed to the implementation of wavelength-induced frequency filtering (Nature Nanotechnology, 2022), enabling clean fluorescence signal recovery in tissue environments with high autofluorescence.
Carbon nanotubes continue to offer a versatile platform linking material science, spectroscopy, and translational medicine.
