Tailoring 3D single-walled carbon nanotubes anchored to indium tin oxide for natural cellular uptake and intracellular sensing.

The ability to monitor intracellular events in real time is paramount to advancing fundamental biological and clinical science. We present the first demonstration of a direct interface of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (VASWCNTs) with eukaryotic cells, RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cell line. The cells were cultured on indium tin oxide with VASWCNTs. VASWCNTs entered the cells naturally without application of any external force and were shown to sense the intracellular presence of a redox active moiety, methylene blue. The technology developed provides an alluring platform to enable electrochemical study of an intracellular environment.