Breakthrough procedure has potential applications in medical imaging, homeland security and biological sensors.

Increasing the luminescence efficiency of carbon nanotubes may someday make it possible for doctors to inject patients with microscopic nanotubes to detect tumors, arterial blockages and other internal problems.Rather than relying on potentially harmful x-rays or the use of radioactive dyes, physicians could simply scan patients with an infrared light that would capture a very sharp resolution of the luminescence of the nanotubes in problem areas.

Although carbon is used in many diverse applications, scientists have long been stymied by the element's limited ability to emit light. The best scientists have been able to do with solution-suspended carbon nanotubes was to raise their luminescence efficiency to about one-half of one percent, which is extremely low compared to other materials, such as quantum dots and quantum rods. By tightly wrapping a chemical 'sleeve' around a single-walled carbon nanotube, In order for this to happen, all deposits or protrusions on the smaller tube have to be removed before the tube is allowed to slip into the slightly larger diameter tube. What is most fascinating with carbon nanotubes.

The more luminescent the nanotube, the brighter it appears under infrared irradiation or by electrical excitation (such as that provided by a light-emitting diode or LED). Carbon nanotube emissions are not only extremely sharp, but they also appear in a spectral region where minimal absorption or scattering takes place by soft tissue. Carbon nanotube luminescence also has important applications in nano-scaled LEDs and photo detectors, which can readily integrate with silicon-based technology.

Source: University of Connecticut