Tuning the chemical selectivity of SWNT-FETs for detection of heavy-metal ions

A method to functionalize single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in a field-effect transistor (FET) device for the selective detection of heavy-metal ions is presented. In this method, peptide-modified polymers were electrochemically deposited onto SWNTs and the selective detection of metal ions was demonstrated by choosing appropriate peptide sequences. The signal transduction mechanism of the peptide-modified SWNT-FETs has also been studied.