Injection of stored nucleotides from single-walled carbon nanotubes

We investigate the possibility of injection of a nucleotide via single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The collapse process of an SWNT with a large radius may proceed like falling dominoes. The characteristics of a large radius SWNT are utilized to drive the nucleotide movement in the SWNT, or even to inject the stored nucleotide out of the SWNT. In this process, the lateral section of the collapsed SWNT resembles a dumbbell. Occasionally, the nucleotide in the SWNT will be inbreathed into one of the two dumbbell ends, leading to interference with the injection process. To investigate the random nature of the injection process, a series of simulations on SWNT with different lengths were carried out. It was found that the injection probability was not influenced by the tube length. Freezing the nucleotide at the beginning, or modifying the SWNT at the outlet, may serve to facilitate the injection process, as indicated by the rise in the injection probability.