DNA encapsulation inside carbon nanotubes using micro electrolyte plasmas

DNA encapsulated carbon nanotubes are formed using a plasma ion irradiation method in electrolyte solutions with DNA, which can be regarded as electrolyte plasmas from the view point that the electrolyte solutions consist of positive and negative ions, and neutral particles in the same way as gas phase plasmas. When both the direct current (DC) and radio frequency (RF) electric fields are applied to the DNA electrolyte plasmas through micro gap electrodes, DNA which is negatively charged in solutions tends to change its conformation from random-coil to stretched-form by the RF field and be irradiated to the carbon-nanotube coated anode-electrode by the DC field. Based on Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses, DNA is confirmed to be inserted into the carbon nanotubes. The creation of DNA encapsulated carbon nanotubes using the micro electrolyte plasmas supports the validity of the plasma concept extended from gas to liquid phase, which could pioneer novel applications in such nanoelectronics and biomedical fields.