Physical properties of carbon nanotubes for therapeutic applications

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are molecular-scale tubes of graphitic carbon with outstanding properties. They are among the stiffest and strongest fibres known, and have remarkable electronic properties and many other unique characteristics. For these reasons they have attracted huge academic and industrial interest, with thousands of papers on nanotubes being published every year. Applications of CNTs in the field of biotechnology have emerged, raising great hopes. The discovery of carbon nanotubes has the potential of revolutionizing biomedical research as they can show superior performance over other nanoparticles. The advantage lies in a unique, unprecedented combination of electrical, magnetic, optical and chemical properties which is greatly promising for the development of a new class of CNT-based drugs and therapy. In the following discussion a brief summary of the CNT physical properties and how they can serve these purposes will be provided, followed by an overview of the current state of the art and the future perspectives.