Halloysite, a nanoclay characterized by a unique, tubular structure, with oppositely charged interior and exterior, suitable, nanometric-range size, high biocompatibility, and low cost, is recently gaining more and more interest as an important and versatile component of various biomaterials and delivery systems of biomedical relevance. One of the most recent, significant, and intensely studied fields in which halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) found diverse applications is cancer therapy. Even though this particular direction is mentioned in several more general reviews, it has never so far been discussed in detail. In our review, we offer an extended survey of the literature on that particular aspect of the biomedical application of HNTs. While historical perspective is also given, our paper is focused on the most recent developments in this field, including controlled delivery and release of anticancer agents and nucleic acids by HNT-based systems, targeting cancer cells using HNT as a carrier, and the capture and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) with nanostructured or magnetic HNT surfaces. The overview of the most up-to-date knowledge on the HNT interactions with cancer cells is also given.

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A new drug delivery system consisting of clindamycin phosphate entrapped in acid-etched halloysite nanotubes was successfully prepared and characterized. It was then used as an antibacterial component of the multicomponent hydrogel designed as a material for bone regeneration. First, halloysite (HNT) was etched and clindamycin phosphate (CP) was entrapped in both raw and modified nanotubes, resulting in HNT-CP and EHNT-CP systems. They were characterized using SEM, TEM, TGA and FTIR; the entrapment efficiency and release of CP from both systems were also studied. EHNT-CP was then used as an antibacterial component of the two hydrogels composed of alginate, collagen and β-TCP. The hydrogels were prepared using different crosslinking procedures but had the same composition. The morphology, porosity, degradation rate, CP release profile, cytocompatibility, antibacterial activity and ability to induce biomineralization were studied for both materials. The hydrogel obtained by a chemical crosslinking with EDC followed by the physical crosslinking with calcium ions had better properties and was shown to have potential as a bone repair material.