Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are large molecules of pure carbon that are long and thin and shaped like tubes, about 1-3 nanometers (1 nm = 1 billionth of a meter) in diameter, and hundreds to thousands of nanometers long. The name CNT originates from their nanometer-scale size. An ideal nanotube can be described as a network of carbon atoms assembled into a cylinder, which is covered at the end by half a fullerene molecule. Its the small dimensions that make CNTs to hold a lot of potential for medical applications. For instance, the potential of CNTs to carry drugs in the organism lies on the fact that they are hollow and much smaller than the blood cells. Furthermore, CNTs can be easily modified with a wide variety of molecules through several procedures. For example, proteins and other molecules can be incorporated onto CNT structures. The practical uses of CNTs in biomedical and biotechnology include their use as channels for biosensors, delivery of drugs, and sheathe for enzymes and transfection of DNA. Actually, CNTs are poised to be the next generation of drug delivery systems for several reasons which include: water dissolvability, highly stable dispersion, absence or limited intrinsic immunogenicity and an effective loading capability.

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Last date updated on September, 2024