Fullerene–biomolecule conjugates and their biomedicinal applications

Abstract

Fullerenes are among the strongest antioxidants and are characterized as “radical sponges.” The research on biomedicinal applications of fullerenes has achieved significant progress since the landmark publication by Friedman et al in 1993. Fullerene–biomolecule conjugates have become an important area of research during the past 2 decades. By a thorough literature search, we attempt to update the information about the synthesis of different types of fullerene–biomolecule conjugates, including fullerene-containing amino acids and peptides, oligonucleotides, sugars, and esters. Moreover, we also discuss in this review recently reported data on the biological and pharmaceutical utilities of these compounds and some other fullerene derivatives of biomedical importance. While within the fullerene–biomolecule conjugates, in which fullerene may act as both an antioxidant and a carrier, specific targeting biomolecules conjugated to fullerene will undoubtedly strengthen the delivery of functional fullerenes to sites of clinical interest.

Bioactivity Study of the C60-L-Threonine Derivative for Potential Application in Agriculture

“…Various fullerene derivatives, their noncovalent interactions, and various physicochemical properties are being actively studied now [8,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] However, the low solubility of fullerenes in water and water solutions limits their wide application and commercial use. The synthesis of fullerene derivatives has improved miscibility of fullerenes in water, which showed to have promising results in fields from medicine to engineering [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. The solubility of fullerene derivatives in water allows their application in pharmacology as antioxidants, which protect cells from being attacked by reactive oxygen species (ROS) [29][30][31].…”

Fulleropeptide esters as potential self-assembled antioxidants

“…Their highly π-conjugated, spherically shaped, hydrophobic character and their unique physicochemical, electronic and magnetic properties make fullerenes attractive building blocks for chemical modifications, providing at the same time novel opportunities for developing diverse scientific fields, particularly in materials science [1], supramolecular chemistry [2], and medicinal chemistry [3,4]. The derivatization of fullerene with peptide units substantially modifies its original properties, rendering them particularly interesting for structural studies [5] and biological applications [6,7]. Since the first reported syn-thesis of a fulleropentapeptide by Prato and co-workers [8] in 1993, many examples of hybrids in this field have been described, which has expanded research in different directions.…”

Effects of Two Fullerene Derivatives on Monocytes and Macrophages

“…Application of nanomaterials is increasing in the field of medicine with the aim to overcome the limitations of or to provide new tools and solutions to the existing approaches to human diseases [ 1 , 2 ]. Among these nanoscale chemical structures, fullerenes represent an important source of the so-called biocompatible molecules because of their capacity to be in contact with cells and biological tissues without altering their behaviour [ 3 ]. Some of these substances were shown to be capable to cross cells without affecting their viability [ 4 , 5 ]; others were demonstrated to be suitable as substrates for the growth of cells and tissues of importance for regenerative medicine and cell therapies [ 6 ].…”