Cell Membrane Interactions with Alumina-Coated Carbon Nanotubes

Understanding the interaction between the cell and nanomaterials is critical to design effective drug carriers and regenerative nanomedicines for the future. Here we use fluorescence imaging and Focused Ion Beam (FIB) milling to study the interaction between HeLa and dendritic cells (DC 2.4) and carbon nanotube arrays or alumina-coated carbon nanotube arrays. Propidium iodide staining demonstrated that the cells grown on nanotubes had a much higher rate of death than the alumina-coated carbon nanotubes. Next, we used a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to characterize the cross-section of a carbon nanotube-pulsed cell. We found nanotubes penetrated inside the cell and the cell deaths were caused by the cell membrane being damaged. Next, we will visualize interaction between the alumina-coated nanotubes and the cells.