Achievements and challenges in the delivery of bioactive molecules by nano-carbon-based systems
by Giorgia Pastorin, Tapas Ranjan Nayak, Yupeng Ren
International Journal of Biomedical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IJBNN), Vol. 1, No. 2/3/4, 2010

Abstract: The strategic combination of bioactive molecules and drug delivery systems has the advantage of increasing the bioavailability of drugs while improving their safety profiles. Amidst the systems aimed to advance the pharmacological profile of otherwise unfavourable molecules, carbon-based nanomaterials (including nanoparticles, graphite, fullerenes, nanotubes and diamonds) have gained high popularity on the basis of: 1) reduced dimensions, which allow them to penetrate into narrow cellular compartments and accumulate in those areas where their presence is most required; 2) wide surface area, which could be functionalised with several groups or chains and simultaneously incorporate drugs, targeting molecules or fluorescent probes; 3) high resistance, due to their compact structure or the stiffness of the material. Despite these promising factors, this review highlights also some concerns on such carbon-nanosystems and which are mainly attributable to the inability of an exhaustive characterisation and to the potential risks associated with this still-unknown material.

Online publication date: Fri, 13-Aug-2010

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Biomedical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IJBNN):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com