US Patent 7374649 - CNT separation using nucleic acids

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7374649.html

One popular way to sort carbon nanotubes is by using DNA that wraps around carbon nanotubes for diameter based separation. This seems to be the basic patent for this approach. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for the separation of a carbon nanotube-nucleic acid complex comprising on the basis of diameter:

a) providing a carbon nanotube-nucleic acid complex in solution comprising an unfunctionalized carbon nanotube bound to a nucleic acid molecule wherein the solution comprises a densifying agent;

b) loading the carbon nanotube-nucleic acid complex solution of step (a) on to an electrophoresis gel; and

c) separating the loaded complexes of (b) by applying an electric field to the gel, whereby the carbon nanotube-nucleic acid complex is separated on the basis of the diameter of the carbon nanotube.