We demonstrate that a functionalized carbon nanotube mat deposited on a track-etch membrane is a permissive substratum for somatosensory neurons from a dorsal root ganglion to grow in cell culture. The functional groups attached to the nanotube surface play an important role in assisting neurite extension during culture. Our scanning electron microcopy (SEM) study reveals intertwinement between the neurites and underlying functionalized carbon nanotubes which indicates their strong interaction at the nanoscale. The functional groups are considered to act as anchoring seeds which may enhance the adhesion of neurons as well as neurites, thus promoting neurite growth.

Iron oxide magnetic nanomaterials are among the most widely used nanomaterials in nanomedicine. Due to their magnetic and structural properties, iron oxide magnetic nanotubes are extremely attractive for biomedical applications. This paper presents the synthesis of iron oxide magnetic nanotubes, and their potential applications in drug delivery. Three types of iron oxide magnetic nanotubes, i.e., hematite, maghemite, and magnetite, were synthesized using template and hydrothermal methods, and the effects of synthesis methods on the morphological and crystalline properties of the synthesized magnetic nanotubes were analyzed. The magnetization properties of the three types of synthesized magnetic nanotubes and their responses to external magnetic fields were studied. To explore their applications in drug delivery, the drug loading and release capabilities of the synthesized magnetic nanotubes were investigated. The final part of this paper discusses several important issues related to the applications of iron oxide magnetic nanotubes for drug delivery, especially the controlled release of drugs.

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Carbon nanotube based electrodes can overcome the drawbacks posed by the conventional wet electrodes, used for physiological monitoring. Here, multiwalled CNT arrays were grown on highly doped n-type Si-wafers with Fecatalyst layer, using a thermal CVD system. Acetylene was used as the carbon source gas, while Ammonia was the reducing gas and Argon was the purging inert gas, in these experiments. The thermal annealing of the catalyst layer and the carbon nanotube growth schedule, were optimized to get a dense and uniform multiwalled CNT array. SEM images reveal dense uniform growth of multiwalled carbon nanotubes over the entire catalyst deposited area. The cross-sectional images reveal a quasi-vertical alignment.