Nanotechnology for implantable sensors: carbon nanotubes and graphene in medicine

Abstract

Implantable sensors utilizing nanotechnology are at the forefront of diagnostic, medical monitoring, and biological technologies. These sensors are often equipped with nanostructured carbon allotropes, such as graphene or carbon nanotubes (CNTs), because of their unique and often enhanced properties over forms of bulk carbon, such as diamond or graphite. Because of these properties, the fundamental and applied research of these carbon nanomaterials have become some of the most cited topics in scientific literature in the past decades. The age of carbon nanomaterials is simply budding, however, and is expected to have a major impact in many areas. These areas include electronics, photonics, plasmonics, energy capture (including batteries, fuel cells, and photovoltaics), and--the emphasis of this review--biosensors and sensor technologies. The following review will discuss future prospects of the two most commonly used carbon allotropes in implantable sensors for nanomedicine and nanobiotechnology, CNTs and graphene. Sufficient further reading and resources have been provided for more in-depth and specific reading that is outside the scope of this general review.

Covalent-bonded graphyne polymers with high hardness

“…Graphite is semimetallic, whereas diamond is semiconductive with a large band gap. Theoretical simulations demonstrate that graphynes are either semiconductive or semimetallic [40][41][42][43]. Covalent-bonded graphyne polymers readily show more abundant electronic properties relative to graphyne (Fig.…”

Macrophages, Foreign Body Giant Cells and Their Response to Implantable Biomaterials

“…These sensors often include nano-structured carbon allotropes, such as graphene or carbon nanotubes, because of their unique and enhanced properties [220]. The age of carbon nano-materials is just beginning and is expected to have a major impact in many areas along with nano-fibers that have enormous potential as wound dressings and other clinical applications [221,222,223]. It is required in the future for in vivo studies to be conducted that investigate the interactions of these implantable sensors fabricated with the cellular components of the immune system.…”

Graphene Oxides Show Angiogenic Properties

“…The unique fundamental properties of 2D structure of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) are utilized for the development of technologically viable devices, chemical and biological sensors, electronics, catalyst, cancer biomarker, nanomedicine, cancer drug delivery, imaging systems, and better antibacterial agent . The numerous reports on the biomedical applications of GO and rGO encourage us to investigate their novel biological properties for the development of new therapeutic treatment strategies for several diseases using nanomedicine approach . In this context, angiogenesis is a physiological process of forming new blood vessels from the pre‐existing vasculature and it plays an important role for the treatment of cancer, and cardiovascular related diseases (CVD).…”