Carbon nanomaterials: novel structures for biological applications

Abstract

Carbon nanomaterials (C.N.s) have received tremendous interest in nanotechnology due to their unique properties and flexible dimensional structure. The study of carbon-based nanomaterials (C.N.s) for biomedical applications has attracted significant attention owing to their unique chemical and physical properties, including thermal, mechanical, electrical, optical, and structural diversity. C.N.s have been extensively investigated in biomedical applications due to their intrinsic physicochemical properties. Lately, C.N.s, including carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon nanofibers (CNFs), graphene oxide (G.O.), and graphene quantum dots (GQDs), have excellent electrical, thermal, and optical properties that make them promising materials for drug delivery bioimaging, biosensing, biomedical scaffolds, medical implants, and tissue engineering applications. The surface functionalization of C.N.s enhances their drug loading/release capacity, their ability to target drug delivery to specific sites, and their dispersibility and suitability in biological systems. This book chapter presents the research trends and state-of-the-art C.N.s being investigated for biomedical applications. This study also embraces the emerging biomedical applications of C.N.s, including targeted drug delivery, tissue engineering, biosensing, bioimaging, and photodynamic therapy. The current status of research regarding the impact of carbon nanomaterials on biomedical applications is summarized, also addressing the currently most relevant knowledge gaps in this domain.