Recent Advances and Prospects of Carbon Nanotubes in Nanomedicine: A Mini Review

Abstract

Currently, the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology has potential advantages in various disciplines of science. Nanomedicine has emerged as a specific application of nanotechnology in health system. The use of nanoscale materials in nanomedicine holds a promising potential for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of several diseases. During the last three decades, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have stimulated a significant attention worldwide due to their impressive advantages like small size and mass, high surface area-to-volume ratio, easy functionalization, superb physico-mechanical properties, and so on. CNTs have provided multifunctional platforms for biological applications such as bioimaging, biosensing, medical diagnosis, phototherapy, drug and gene delivery, tissue engineering, etc. owing to their innovative and attractive properties. This review presents a comprehensive framework of the unique advantages and up-to-date advanced biomedical applications of CNTs to date, with special emphasis on the recent progress in nanomedicine like phototherapy, drug and gene delivery, and tissue engineering. Besides the applications, an overview of CNTs along with some important methodologies of synthesis is also discussed herewith. Lastly, some major concerns to be challenged and perspectives for the future development of CNTs in the field of biomedical sector are highlighted in this paper which will help to give valuable insights into new research directions.