Analysis of vibration behavior in single strand DNA-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes adhered to lipid membranes

Abstract

Single strand DNA-wrapped Single-walled carbon nanotubes (ssDNA-SWCNTs) have critical biomedical applications such as drug delivery, bio-imaging and bio-sensing; therefore, the mechanical interaction between ssDNA-SWCNTs and lipid membranes is an important research topic. Several studies have experimentally demonstrated that depending on the length of ssDNA-SWCNTs penetrate the lipid membranes. However, few studies have analyzed the mechanism of the mechanical interaction of this process. In addition, simulation approaches, such as molecule dynamics (MD) with long SWCNTs, are time-consuming. In this study, we examined the mechanical interaction by analyzing the vibration behavior of ssDNA-SWCNTs at difference lengths from 25 to 200 nm adhered to the lipid membranes considering effect of the damping and mass in water. In order to evaluate the vibration behavior between ssDNA-SWCNTs and lipid membranes, the frequency response functions of them was investigated by the modal analysis method. As a result, we found that ssDNA-SWCNTs shorter than 100 nm can efficiently transmit force on the lipid membranes. On the other hand, ssDNA-SWCNTs longer than 100 nm interfere with the efficient transfer of force to the lipid membranes due to the damping resistance in water accompanied by ssDNA vibration on the SWCNTs.

Keywords

• Single-walled carbon nanotubes
• Single-stranded DNA
• Lipid membranes
• Vibration behavior