Biocompatibility tissue regeneration

Despite the evidence for the cytotoxicity of CNTs, there are an increasing number of published studies that support the potential development of CNT-based biomaterials for tissue regeneration (e.g., neuronal substrates [143] and orthopedic materials [154—156]), cancer treatment [157], and drug/vaccine delivery systems [158, 159]. Most of these applications will involve the implantation and/or administration of such materials into patients as for any therapeutic or diagnostic agent used, the toxic potential of the CNTs must be evaluated in relation to their potential benefits [160]. For this reason, detailed investigations of the interactions between CNTs/CNT-based implants and various cell types have been carried out [154, 155, 161]. A comprehensive description of such results, however, is beyond the scope of this chapter. Extensive reviews on the biocompatibility of implantable CNT composite materials [21, 143, 162] and of CNT drug-delivery systems [162] are available. 

Summarizing, noncovalent functionalization methods can be used to prepare materials with specific biological properties because they are quick, efficient and clean. In order to increase biocompatibility of carbon nanostructures, these materials now need to be integrated into living systems and to be potentially used as tissue regeneration scaffolds, prostheses or drug deliverers. 

Pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and life sciences New nanostructured drugs, gene and drug delivery systems biocompatible replacements for body parts and fluids, self-diagnostics for use in the home, sensors for labs-on-a-chip, material for bone and tissue regeneration blood replacement... 

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