Human Immune Protein C1q Selectively Disaggregates Carbon Nanotubes

We
atomistically compute the change in free energy upon binding
of the globular domain of the complement protein C1q to carbon nanotubes
(CNTs) and graphene in solution. Our modeling results imply that C1q
is able to disaggregate and disperse bundles of large diameter multiwalled
CNTs but not those of thin single-walled CNTs, and we validate this
prediction with experimental observations. The results support the
view of a strong binding with potential implications for the understanding
of the immune response and biomedical applications of graphitic nanomaterials.