Patent ID: 7879560

Claim:
A method of binding a first member of a specific binding pair, comprising: providing an article of manufacture comprising: (a) a nanotube having an inner wall portion, said nanotube having (i) an inner diameter between 10 nanometers and 500 nanometers and (ii) a length from two to one thousand times said diameter; and (b) a bilayer coating formed on and parallel to said inner wall portion, such that only the hydrophilic portion of the bilayer coating is in contact with said inner wall portion, with said bilayer coating comprised of (i) from 10 to 90 percent by weight surfactants and (ii) from 10 to 90 percent by weight water, said article further comprising a secondary compound associated with said bilayer coating, wherein said secondary compound is a second member of said specific binding pair; and then contacting a composition containing said first member of said specific binding pair to said article of manufacture so that first member of said specific binding pair binds to said second member of said specific binding pair and is thereby bound to bilayer coating formed on said inner wall portion of said nanotube.