International Journal of Nanomedicine (Mar 2021)

Carbon Nanotubes: Smart Drug/Gene Delivery Carriers

  • Zare H,
  • Ahmadi S,
  • Ghasemi A,
  • Ghanbari M,
  • Rabiee N,
  • Bagherzadeh M,
  • Karimi M,
  • Webster TJ,
  • Hamblin MR,
  • Mostafavi E

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 1681 – 1706

Abstract

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Hossein Zare,1,2 Sepideh Ahmadi,3,4 Amir Ghasemi,5 Mohammad Ghanbari,6 Navid Rabiee,7 Mojtaba Bagherzadeh,7 Mahdi Karimi,8– 11 Thomas J Webster,12 Michael R Hamblin,13 Ebrahim Mostafavi12,14,15 1Advances Nanobiotechnology and Nanomedicine Research Group (ANNRG), Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2Biomaterials Group, Materials Science and Engineering Department, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran; 3Student Research Committee, Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 4Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 5Department of Engineering, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom; 6School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran; 7Department of Chemistry, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran; 8Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 9Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 10Oncopathology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 11Research Center for Science and Technology in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, MA, Iran; 12Applied Biotechnology Research Centre, Tehran Medical Science, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, MA, Iran; 13Laser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Science, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, 2028, South Africa; 14Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford, CA, USA; 15Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USACorrespondence: Ebrahim MostafaviStanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Biomedical Innovation Building, 240 Pasteur Dr, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USAEmail [email protected] R HamblinLaser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Science, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, 2028, South AfricaEmail [email protected]: The unique properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) (such as their high surface to volume ratios, enhanced conductivity and strength, biocompatibility, ease of functionalization, optical properties, etc.) have led to their consideration to serve as novel drug and gene delivery carriers. CNTs are effectively taken up by many different cell types through several mechanisms. CNTs have acted as carriers of anticancer molecules (including docetaxel (DTX), doxorubicin (DOX), methotrexate (MTX), paclitaxel (PTX), and gemcitabine (GEM)), anti-inflammatory drugs, osteogenic dexamethasone (DEX) steroids, etc. In addition, the unique optical properties of CNTs have led to their use in a number of platforms for improved photo-therapy. Further, the easy surface functionalization of CNTs has prompted their use to deliver different genes, such as plasmid DNA (PDNA), micro-RNA (miRNA), and small interfering RNA (siRNA) as gene delivery vectors for various diseases such as cancers. However, despite all of these promises, the most important continuous concerns raised by scientists reside in CNT nanotoxicology and the environmental effects of CNTs, mostly because of their non-biodegradable state. Despite a lack of widespread FDA approval, CNTs have been studied for decades and plenty of in vivo and in vitro reports have been published, which are reviewed here. Lastly, this review covers the future research necessary for the field of CNT medicine to grow even further.Keywords: drug delivery, gene delivery, carbon nanotube, precision medicine

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