Biomedical Application of Graphene

The biological and biomedical applications of graphene and its derivatives are currently of great interest and have been reviewed in de-tail. Li and Mezzenga have recently reviewed the interaction of amyloid fibrils with carbon nanomaterials such as graphene, extending the scope of biomedical applications and composite biomaterials, indeed, the supramolecular self-assembly of carbonaceous nanomaterials by biomolecules is now a possibility. ... 

Shen H, Zhang L, Liu M, Zhang Z. Biomedical applications of graphene. Theranostics March 2012 2(3) 283-94. 

The applications of graphene/conjugated polymer nanocomposites have been extensively explored due to their unique properties and the synergistic effect of graphene-based fillers and conjugated polymer nanocomposites. The graphene/conjugated polymer nanocomposites are expected to find applications in many fields, such as DSSC, transparent electrodes, pharmaceutical, biomedical, environmental field and touch screen [168-192]. 

In spite of the research progress still continuing for the development of graphene composites for industrial applications, these materials have already been explored for a range of applications in different fields such as optoelectronic devices (mostly use semiconductor and quantum dots), energy storage (Li-ion batteries, which use transition metal oxides supercapacitors, which use transition metal oxide and polymers fuel cells, which use metal NPs and polymers solar cells, which use metal oxide and polymer), sensors (use metal, oxide and polymer) and biomedical applications (use protein, DNA, polymers, etc.). The details have already been explained in their respective sections in this review chapter. 

Owing to their unique chemical and physical structure, carbon-based NMs are potential candidates for a variety of biomedical applications, including early imaging, NIR photothermal therapy, photoacoustic imaging, and drug delivery. When these NIR NMs are introduced into complex biological systems, the related risk assessment is of considerable importance to both human and environmental health. Based on current studies, we mainly discuss the in vitro and in vivo toxicity of CNTs and graphene. 

---