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Tubular glassy carbon microneedles with fullerene-like tips for biomedical applications.pdf (1.5 MB)

Tubular glassy carbon microneedles with fullerene-like tips for biomedical applications

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 06:22 authored by Sharali Malik, George KostakisGeorge Kostakis
Glassy carbon, in general, is made by the pyrolysis of polymeric materials and has been the subject of research for at least fifty years. However, as understanding its microstructure is far from straightforward, it continues to be an area of active research. Glassy carbon adopts different allotropes depending on the hybridizations of the C–C bond, that is, sp, sp2, or sp3. Furthermore, a variety of short-range ordering effects can interact with each other and this, along with the effects of microporosity, grain boundaries, and defects, render this a fascinating material. Following the nanoarchitectonics concept of bottom-up creation of functional materials, we use methane rather than a polymer to form glassy carbon. Here we show that tubular glassy carbon microneedles with fullerenelike tips form when methane undergoes pyrolysis on a curved alumina surface. X-ray diffraction of these glassy carbon tubules shows long-range order with a d-spacing of 4.89 Å, which is indicative of glassy carbon. Raman spectroscopy shows the material to be graphitic in nature, and SEM shows the fullerene-like structure of the material. This work provides new insights into the structure of glassy carbons relevant to the application of glassy carbons as a biomaterial, for example, as a new form of carbon-based microneedles. Since metallic needles can introduce toxic/allergenic species into susceptible subjects, this alternative carbon-based microneedle form has great potential as a replacement biomedical material for metallic needles in the field of neural engineering and as acupuncture needles.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology

ISSN

2190-4286

Publisher

Beilstein Institut

Volume

13

Page range

455-461

Event location

Germany

Department affiliated with

  • Chemistry Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2023-03-01

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2023-03-01

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2023-03-01

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