The ionic liquid-associated synthesis of a cellulose/SWCNT complex and its remarkable biocompatibility

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) wrapped with cellulose have been successfully prepared by the treatment of SWCNTs with a cellulose solution in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide. The obtained SWCNT complex can be dispersed in water, forming a stable solution with excellent biocompatibility. It was found that long cellulose/SWCNT scaffolds could promote the growth of HeLa cells. In suspensions, short cellulose/SWCNTs complexes tend to enter HeLa cells and show little affect on cell proliferation. Therefore, the complexes have potential applications in biomaterial scaffolds and intracellular drug delivery systems.