Quantitative detection of carbon nanotubes in biological samples by an original method based on microwave permittivity measurements

Floriane Bourdiol (1, 2) , David Dubuc (3) , Katia Grenier (3) , Florence Mouchet (2) , Laury Gauthier (2) , Emmanuel Flahaut (1)

1 CIRIMAT - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche et d'ingenierie des matériaux
2 LEFE - Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement
3 LAAS-MH2F - Équipe Micro et nanosystèmes HyperFréquences Fluidiques

Due to their nanoscale, morphology, and chemical composition, the tracking and the quantitative analysis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in biological samples still represent huge challenges. A new technique for the quantitative and accurate detection of CNTs in various biological samples at different scales (whole organisms to organs) was developed using amphibian larvae exposed to double-walled CNTs (DWCNTs). This technique is based on the dielectric relaxation of ultra-low volume suspensions under a microwave electromagnetic field. CNT concentrations were consequently extracted from complex permittivity measurements at 5 GHz, making possible to quantitatively assess the animal exposure to CNTs. Our results indicate a detection threshold of 0.02 lg of DWCNTs, which is the lowest achieved in the literature to date

Mots clés: Microwave permittivity measurements; Carbon nanotubes; Biological samples

Domaines: Matériaux

Floriane Bourdiol, David Dubuc, Katia Grenier, Florence Mouchet, Laury Gauthier, et al.. Quantitative detection of carbon nanotubes in biological samples by an original method based on microwave permittivity measurements. Carbon, 2015, 81, pp. 535-545. ⟨10.1016/j.carbon.2014.09.086⟩. ⟨hal-01448319⟩