Graphene oxide has been used in different fields of nanomedicine as a manager of drug delivery due to its inherent physical and chemical properties that allow its use in thin films with biomedical applications. Several studies demonstrated its efficacy in the control of the amount and the timely delivery of drugs when it is incorporated in multilayer films. It has been demonstrated that oxide graphene layers are able to work as drug delivery or just to delay consecutive drug dosage, allowing the operation of time-controlled systems. This review presents the latest research developments of biomedical applications using graphene oxide as the main component of a drug delivery system, with focus on the production and characterization of films, in vitro and in vivo assays, main applications of graphene oxide biomedical devices, and its biocompatibility properties.

Graphene is the material elected to study molecules and monolayers at the molecular scale due to its chemical stability and electrical properties. The invention of scanning tunneling microscopy has deepened our knowledge on molecular systems through imaging at an atomic resolution, and new possibilities have been investigated at this scale. Interest on studies on biomolecules has been demonstrated due to the possibility of mimicking biological systems, providing several applications in nanomedicine: drug delivery systems, biosensors, nanostructured scaffolds, and biodevices. A breakthrough came with the synthesis of molecular systems by stepwise methods with control at the atomic/molecular level. This article presents a review on self-assembled monolayers of biomolecules on top of graphite with applications in biodevices. Special attention is given to porphyrin systems adsorbed on top of graphite that are able to anchor other biomolecules.

Retinal diseases lead to severe vision loss and are currently a major cause of vision impairment in industrialized countries. The significant number of genetic defects of the retina underlying these disorders, coupled to the absence of effective treatments, require new therapeutic solutions. Recent gene therapy developments in the field of ophthalmic research reveal the great potential of this approach. In recent years, non-viral vectors have been extensively studied due to their properties such as large gene packaging capacity and low immunogenicity. Hitherto, their development and optimisation for retinal gene therapy have been hindered by their inability to directly target retinal cells. The goal of this review is to summarize the most promising strategies to direct non-viral vectors for retinal cells to avoid off-target effects and promote their specific uptake, gene expression and overall efficiency.