Role of Organic Surfactants in Achieving Optimal Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Dispersion Media for Biomedical Conductive Composite Coatings

This study investigated the effect of the organic surfactants sodium cholate and sodium deoxycholate on the homogeneity of dispersed media, containing single-walled carbon nanotubes. This is necessary for the development of electrically conductive coatings in biomedical electronics. The focus is on the optimization of dispersion parameters, including surfactant type as well as ultrasonic processing time, to achieve homogeneous dispersed media. Dynamic light scattering and UV-visible spectroscopy techniques were used to analyze the particle size distribution. The results showed, that ultrasonic treatment significantly improved the homogeneity of dispersed media with sodium deoxycholate, showing higher efficiency compared to sodium cholate. The resulting composite coatings deposited on titanium substrates (mimicking the surface of medical electrodes) exhibited enhanced electrical conductivity. The results of the study underscore the promise of employing surfactants in the development of neurointerfaces with enhanced electrical and mechanical properties. The study makes a significant contribution to the development of novel electrically conductive coatings by addressing key challenges such as the low dispersibility of carbon nanomaterials.