Carbon nanotubes drug delivery system for cancer treatment

Abstract

There has been a predominant interest in using nanotechnology for drug delivery applications, especially for cite-specific targeting. Recently, interest in the potential of carbon nanotubes (CNT) to deliver bio-molecules for a range of biomedical applications, particularly drug delivery into living systems for cancer diagnostics and therapy has massively grown. Pure CNTs have inherent limitations, such as poor solubility, which limit their use in biomedical applications. A myriad of approaches to enhance their solubility have been investigated. An attractive approach has involved the functionalization of CNTs (f-CNT) in order to improve their solubility and biocompatibility in aqueous solutions. This chapter provides an introductory overview of carbon nanotubes and their use as drug delivery systems for cancer treatment.