A review on carbon nanotubes in biosensor devices and their applications in medicine

Abstract

In recent years, integrating biological components in analytical instruments especially in biomedical research has become a prerequisite for early diagnosis of many diseases. It is well known that the material properties (electrical and physical) of CNTs is very sensitive to be affected by exposure to biomolecules and this led to the investigation by many researchers. Though the CNT-based biosensors has been widely used due their better performance, it still has many practical concerns in application. For the successful commercialization of the concept of CNT-based biosensors, many hurdles need to overcome. Modifications on CNT biosensors have experienced a dramatic change with outstanding developments. The present article provides an overview on the recent development in CNT biosensors and comprehensive analysis was given on various ways to improve the performance of CNT with new designs. In addition, some of the practical applications and concerns in the field are addressed. The scientific and technological challenges in the field are discussed in the conclusion.

Keywords

• Carbon nanotubes
• functionalization
• cytotoxicity
• biosensors