SiC whiskers

[unknown at dl.ac.uk]

I recently published a paper in Biotechniques (15:452, 1993) in which I 
described the transformation of walled Chlamydomonas cells mediated by 
silicon carbide whiskers.  Since then, I've had requests from several 
people for information on obtaining the whiskers.  The source described in 
the paper, Tokai Carbon, will no longer give out samples of the fibers, and 
only sells them in 2 kg quantities.  Several months ago I contacted Mr.Taso 
Iraclidis at Alfa Chemical (Johnson Matthey Company) about the possibility 
of offering the whiskers through their company (they already offered SiC 
powder and platelets).  I just found out today that they will be offering 
SiC whiskers in their new catalog.  You can place an order now, with 
expected delivery in a few weeks.  The fibers are 1.1 um x 15 um (very 
similar to the fibers I used previously), 99% pure, and will sell for $95 
for 50 gm or $179 for 100 gm (catalog # 38787).  I plan to order some to 
try for Chlamydomonas transformation, and will put a note on the net with 
the results.

Terri Dunahay
National Renewable Energy Lab
Golden, CO  80304
E-mail: dunahayt at tcplink.nrel.gov