Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene - Research and Applications

Single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone-iodine (povidone-iodine or PVPI) in water. This solution of SWCNT and PVPI is deposited as a composite film, composed of individual and bundled SWCNTs with a PVPI coating. This material acts as a conductive nanotextured bandage with high flexibility and self contained slow-release antiseptic iodine. Antibacterial properties were tested on Escherichia coli, showing high efficacy over 48 h. Four-probe resistance tests showed a sheet resistance of approximately 10 kΩ/□.

This material show promise for wound healing applications where regeneration of nervous tissue connections is desired, as it will act to prevent infection, allow oxygen to the wound site through micron sized pores, provide a nanotextured substrate material for nervous and tissue growth, and stimulate reconnection of nerve cells by electrical pulsing.
(T.J. Simmons, S.-H. Lee, T.-J. Park, D.P. Hashim, P.M. Ajayan, and R.J. Linhardt, Carbon 2009, article in press, doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2009.02.005)