US Patent 7256466 - Functionalized semiconductor nanowire

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7256466.html

This patent from Harvard includes basic claims to functionalized semiconductor nanowires (including carbon nanotubes). It does have an early priority date (December 11, 2000) and while there is prior art for multiwall carbon nanotube functionalization such as for AFM tips the use of semiconductor nanowires can be more useful for sensing applications. Claim 1 reads:

1. An article comprising: a semiconductor nanowire comprising a core region and an outer region surrounding the core region, wherein the outer region is selectively functionalized with a chemical or biological species added to the nanowire after construction of the nanowire.