Fluorescent glow of carbon nanotubes in live fruit fly

Rice University scientists have captured the first optical images of carbon nanotubes inside a living organism. The research appears in the September 2007 issue of Nano Letters. The researchers fed carbon nanotubes to newly hatched fruit flies. Using a laser, they excited a fluorescent glow from the nanotubes and took pictures of the near-infrared glow with a custom microscope. The researchers hope the technique will be useful in finding new ways to diagnose disease.

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