Heller, Daniel A.Pratt, George W.Zhang, JingqingNair, NitishHansborough, Adam J.Boghossian, Ardemis A.Reuel, Nigel F.Barone, Paul W.Strano, Michael S.2015-03-032015-03-032015-03-03201110.1073/pnas.1005512108https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/111840A class of peptides from the bombolitin family, not previously identified for nitroaromatic recognition, allows near-infrared fluorescent single-walled carbon nanotubes to transduce specific changes in their conformation. In response to the binding of specific nitroaromatic species, such peptide-nanotube complexes form a virtual "chaperone sensor," which reports modulation of the peptide secondary structure via changes in single-walled carbon nanotubes, near-infrared photoluminescence. A split-channel microscope constructed to image quantized spectral wavelength shifts in real time, in response to nitroaromatic adsorption, results in the first single-nanotube imaging of solvatochromic events. The described indirect detection mechanism, as well as an additional exciton quenching-based optical nitroaromatic detection method, illustrate that functionalization of the carbon nanotube surface can result in completely unique sites for recognition, resolvable at the single-molecule level.[on SciFinder (R)]text::journal::journal article::research article