Recent Developments in Organic Nanotubes for Drug Delivery Applications

Abstract

Over the past few years, nanoparticles have been widely used in therapeutic applications. It is well acknowledged that the shortcomings of conventional treatments have been improved by nanoparticles. The advantages and drawbacks of inorganic nanocarriers such as metal nanoparticles and quantum dots have been extensively studied. Although carbon nanotubes have been touted as a prominent medication delivery method, their physicochemical characteristics viz. low water solubility, limited circulation time, etc restrict their use. In comparison to hard matter tubes like carbon and other inorganic matter, organic nanotubes have better physiological properties such as improved blood stability, longer circulation time, high serum solubility, etc. The current study focuses on recent developments in the use of organic nanotubes for drug delivery and the utilization of their structural features. The soft, organic material that build up these nanotubes has a synergistic effect on biocompatibility and lowers cytotoxicity thus proving suitable for the potential use as drug delivery carrier. The goals of this review are to identify the characteristics that support the creation of new drug delivery systems and to shed light on current advancements that have been reported in the literature. The paper also includes discussion of the difficulties in using these organic nanotubes for applications in drug delivery as well as the potential for future research in this field.

Self‐Assembled Nanocarrier Delivery Systems for Bioactive Compounds

“…Reproduced with permission. [ 131b ] Copyright 2011, Royal Society of Chemistry. F) Schematic diagrams of the helical ribbons during the nanotubes (NTs) formation by Building blocks (BBs) to NTs pathways.…”

“…The SA methods of nanotube include chiral self‐assembly (chiral‐SA), packing‐directed self‐assembly (packing‐directed‐SA), molecular sculpting, and template processes, as shown in Figure 7B–E. [ 131 ] In the process of chiral‐SA, amphiphilic molecules and spiral coil band structure are used as the precursor and intermediate step, respectively. The nanotubes grow by decreasing the band pitch and keeping the band width constant or increasing the tape width and keeping the helical pitch constant.…”

“…When P is 1/3, amphiphilic BBs will tend to produce spheres. [ 131 ] In addition, nanotubes can also be constructed by using molecular sculpting techniques to treat cross‐linked nanofibers. First, micelles made of coaxial cylindrical BBs are self‐assembled to form nanofibers.…”