A Review of Theranostics Applications and Toxicities of Carbon Nanomaterials

Abstract

Background: In the last few years, the use of modified Carbon Nanomaterials (CNMs) for theranostics (therapeutic and diagnosis) applications is a new and rapidly growing area in pharmacy and medical fields. Owing to this, their specific physicochemical behaviors like high stability, drug loading, surface area to volume ratio, with low toxicity and immunogenicity are mainly responsible to be considered those as smart nanomaterials. Objective: This review describes the different dimensions of carbon-based nanocarriers including 0-D fullerene, 1-D Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs), and 2-D graphene and Graphene Oxide (GO) and their surface modification with different biocompatible and biodegradable molecules via covalent or non-covalent functionalization. The major focus of this article is on the different theranostics applications of CNMs like targeted drugs and genes delivery, photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, bioimaging, and biosensing. The therapeutic efficacy of drugs could be enhanced by delivering them directly on a specific site using different targeted ligands such as vitamins, peptide, carbohydrates, proteins, etc. A section of the article also discusses the toxicity of the CNMs to the living systems. Conclusion: In brief, this review article discusses the numerous theranostics applications and toxicities of CNMs.

Chemical exchange saturation transfer for detection of antiretroviral drugs in brain tissue

“…First, the loading rate of nanoparticles are usually limited to achieve effective therapy and/or imaging sensitivity [21]. Second, toxicity associated with imaging agents and nanoparticles has to be addressed [50–52]. Third, blood brain barrier penetration needs to be considered when designing traditional theranostic methods for the CNS.…”

Porous Carbon Nanomaterials Based Tumor Targeting Drug Delivery System: a Review

“…(1)光敏感靶向 由于肿瘤细胞的异常生理, 导致其对热的敏感 性更强。多孔碳纳米材料可以吸收近红外区域(NIR Ⅰ: 700~1100 nm, NIR Ⅱ: 1~1.4 μm)中的光能, 并 图 7 ZIF 热解获得的多孔碳球酶敏感响应示意图 [35] Fig. 7 Schematic illustration of enzyme-responsive of porous carbon obtained from ZIF pyrolysis [35] 以 热 能 的 形 式 散 发 , 在 短 时 间 内 局 部 温 度 升 至 40~45 ℃, 高于生理温度 37 ℃, 从而诱导对癌细 胞的热破坏 [97] 。Du 等 [82] 采用带正电荷的聚乙烯亚 胺修饰多孔中空碳球表面, 构建了大尺寸基因分子 与阿霉素同时负载的药物传递系统, 结果表明, 该 系统可以有效地将近红外光转化为热能, 在基因治 疗的协同作用下, 几乎杀死了所有癌细胞。Xu 等 [98] 采用聚乙烯亚胺和叶酸对多孔碳纳米材料进行修饰, 构建了化学光热靶向的药物传递载体, 发现将化学 疗法与光热疗法相结合, 可以发挥更好的治疗功效 (图 8)。因此, 光敏感是构建抗肿瘤药物传递系统常 用的体外敏感刺激方式。…”

Carbon-Based Nanomaterials via Heterojunction Serving as Photocatalyst

“…Graphene with excellent physical and chemical properties discovered in 2004, holding sp 2 -hybridized atoms tightly assembled into an ordered two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb construct, offer new opportunities in designing efficient photocatalytic materials with high stability (Gupta et al, 2019; Madkour, 2019). Recent demand for the synthesis of metal-free photocatalysts is on the verge of increase.…”