Results of the research can be used in medical sciences in controlled target drug delivery and in the production of efficient biosensors.
The researchers believe that according to the results, a combination of boron nitride nanotube and vitamin B3 can be used in drug delivery. The simple release of the vitamin from the surface of nanotube has been reported as the main reason for this fact. In addition, considering the type of sorption of vitamin C on boron nitride nanotube, the nanotube functionalized with vitamin C can be used as a nanobiosensor.
Electron properties of boron nitride nanotube vary slightly with covalent and non-covalent sorption of vitamin B3. After the sorption, vitamin B3 can easily leave the surface of boron nitride nanotube while basic properties of boron nitride nanotube are conserved. These two factors are considered among important characteristics in the designing of drug delivery systems. Therefore and according to the theoretical results, boron nitride nanotubes can be used as the carriers of vitamin B3.
Calculations also showed that the sorption of vitamin C and its radical on boron nitride nanotube had desirable effect from energy point of view. It seems that boron nitride nanotube can be an appropriate sorbent of vitamin C and its radical. On the other hand, electro structures of boron nitride nanotube change significantly in the presence of vitamin C and its radical. According to the calculations, it is suggested that boron nitride nanotube is a good option for the production of sensors to detect vitamin C and its radical.
Results of the research have been published in Journal of Chemical Sciences, vol. 125, issue 6, November 2013, pp. 1595-1606.