The growth of high quality and high yield carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of CH 4 over Co-Mo/MgO catalyst was investigated for different growth temperatures and H 2 flow rates. It was observed that CNT yield decreased with the H 2 flow rate, however, quality increased with increasing H 2 flow rate. CNT yield increased for the temperatures 850-950°C but dropped significantly above 950°C. In this study, the highest yield of 1526% was obtained at the growth temperature of 950°C. The optimum H 2 flow rate was 200 sccm; this rate gave both high graphitization and high yield of product. Various CNT growth atmospheres including Ar, H 2 and the mixture of both gases were also analyzed and it was observed that the highest quality CNTs were obtained for both pretreatment and growth carried out with H 2 . This gave a high yield of 292%. On the other hand, CNT growth carried out under Ar atmosphere gave higher CNT yield of 368%, however, the CNTs grown with Ar were more defective and had larger diameters. Prime novelty statement: We demonstrate a sorbitol added catalysis synthesis method and importance of the ideal growth conditions to improve high quality single walled carbon nanotube yield up to 1500%.

Polypyrrole (PPy) is an attractive scaffold material for tissue engineering with its non-toxic and electrically conductive properties. There has not been enough information about PPy usage in skin tissue engineering. The aim of this study is to investigate biocompatibility of polyacrilonitrile (PAN)/PPy nanofibrous scaffold for human keratinocytes. PAN/PPy bicomponent nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning, in various PPy concentrations and with carbon nanotube (CNT) incorporation. The average diameter of electrospun nanofibers decreased with increasing PPy concentration. Further, agglomerated CNTs caused beads and disordered parts on the surface of nanofibers. Biocompatibility of these PAN/PPy and PAN/PPy/CNT scaffolds were analyzed in vitro. Both scaffolds provided adhesion and proliferation of keratinocytes. Nanofiber diameter did not significantly influence the morphology of cells. However, with increasing number of cells, cells stayed among nanofibers and this affected their shape and size. In this study, we demonstrated that PAN/PPy and PAN/PPy/CNT scaffolds enabled the growth of keratinocytes, showing their biocompatibility.

The aim of this study was to develop random and aligned polyacrilonitrile (PAN)/polypyrrole (PPy) nanofibrous scaffolds by electrospinning technique for osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. Nanofibers were fabricated successfully as straight, smooth, and free from bead formation. The average diameter of random and aligned nanofibers was 268(±49) nm and 225(±72) nm, respectively. Alignment process increased the tensile strength of nanofibers 3.9-fold, while the tensile strain of nanofibers decreased by 78%. PAN/PPy nanofibers were hydrophilic with the contact angle value of about 32° and alignment did not affect the contact angle value. Random and aligned PAN/PPy nanofibers were investigated as a scaffold material for osteogenic differentiation of D1 ORL UVA mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Cells were able to attach and grow on nanofibers confirmed by cell viability results. Stem cells that were cultured with osteogenic induction were able to mineralize on electrospun nanofibers based on alizarin red and Von Kossa dye staining. For aligned PPy nanofibers, mineralization occurred in the fiber alignment direction. Consequently, PAN/PPy nanofibrous mats in both random and aligned forms would be potential candidates for bone tissue engineering.

The CRISPR-Cas9 system has facilitated the genetic modification of various model organisms and cell lines. The outcomes of any CRISPR-Cas9 assay should be investigated to ensure/improve the precision of genome engineering. In this study, carbon nanotube-modified disposable pencil graphite electrodes (CNT/PGEs) were used to develop a label-free electrochemical nanogenosensor for the detection of point mutations generated in the genome by using the CRISPR-Cas9 system. Carbodiimide chemistry was used to immobilize the 5′-aminohexyl-linked inosine-substituted probe on the surface of the sensor. After hybridization between the target sequence and probe at the sensor surface, guanine oxidation signals were monitored using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Optimization of the sensitivity of the nanogenoassay resulted in a lower detection limit of 213.7 nM. The nanogenosensor was highly specific for the detection of the precisely edited DNA sequence. This method allows for a rapid and easy investigation of the products of CRISPR-based gene editing and can be further developed to an array system for multiplex detection of different-gene editing outcomes.

a b s t r a c tElectrical conductivity of an unsaturated thermoset polyester based gel-coat system containing 0.05 wt.% of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was investigated. The CNTs used were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition method by methane decomposition and Raman characterization showed that they were mostly single walled and high quality. To disperse CNTs in the gel-coat resin, 3-roll milling technique was used. It was found that as the CNTs are added to gel-coat system, resistivity value decreases significantly while neat gel-coat showed a high resistivity. By the application of an AC electrical field during curing process, it was attempted to align CNTs in the gel-coat resin and an electrically anisotropic polymer was obtained.