Simon Juliette, Flahaut Emmanuel, Golzio Muriel
CIRIMAT, Université Toulouse Paul Sabatier, B.t. CIRIMAT, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse CEDEX 9, France.
Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse Paul Sabatier, 205, Route de Narbonne, 31077 Toulouse CEDEX 4, France.
Materials (Basel). 2019 Feb 20;12(4):624. doi: 10.3390/ma12040624.
The unique combination of mechanical, optical and electrical properties offered by carbon nanotubes has fostered research for their use in many kinds of applications, including the biomedical field. However, due to persisting outstanding questions regarding their potential toxicity when considered as free particles, the research is now focusing on their immobilization on substrates for interface tuning or as biosensors, as load in nanocomposite materials where they improve both mechanical and electrical properties or even for direct use as scaffolds for tissue engineering. After a brief introduction to carbon nanotubes in general and their proposed applications in the biomedical field, this review will focus on nanocomposite materials with hydrogel-based matrices and especially their potential future use for diagnostics, tissue engineering or targeted drug delivery. The toxicity issue will also be briefly described in order to justify the safe(r)-by-design approach offered by carbon nanotubes-based hydrogels.
碳纳米管所具备的机械、光学和电学特性的独特组合，推动了其在包括生物医学领域在内的多种应用方面的研究。然而，由于在将其视为游离颗粒时，关于其潜在毒性仍存在悬而未决的突出问题，目前研究正聚焦于将它们固定在基质上以进行界面调节或用作生物传感器，作为纳米复合材料中的负载物（在纳米复合材料中它们可同时改善机械和电学性能），甚至直接用作组织工程支架。在对碳纳米管及其在生物医学领域的潜在应用进行简要介绍之后，本综述将聚焦于以水凝胶为基质的纳米复合材料，尤其是它们未来在诊断、组织工程或靶向药物递送方面的潜在用途。还将简要描述毒性问题，以论证基于碳纳米管的水凝胶所提供的按设计更安全的方法。
