Dec. 2, 2003 — A team led by DuPont scientists have discovered a way to sort and assemble carbon nanotubes that could overcome an obstacle to developing highly sensitive medical diagnostics devices, miniature transistors and other nanoelectronic devices, according to a news release.

Nanotubes of different electronic types randomly clump together when they are fabricated, making it difficult to produce them with consistent conductivity. The researchers say the new sorting method uses single-stranded DNA and a type of chromatography to separate metallic and semiconducting nanotubes, allowing for uniform conductivity.

The team, whose work appears in the current issue of the journal Science, included scientists from DuPont Central Research & Development, the University of Illinois and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.