Biological Activities of Carbon Nanotubes

During the past several years, nanotechnology based on novel nanomaterials has gained considerable attention in various scientific disciplines such as biotechnology, medicine and material engineering (McCarthy and Weissleder 2008). According to British Standards Institute Report (2007), nanoparticles are those particles with at least one dimension of less than or equal to 100 nm (1 nm = 1 x 10-6 m) in size. Since particle size is directly related to surface area and associated surface energy, nanoscaled materials relatively exhibit unique physicochemical, optical and electrical properties than micron-sized particles. Nanomaterials have exceptional properties and are beneficial in a wide range of applications. Nanotechnology based on these novel nanomaterials is fueling the modern industrial revolution which is already a multi-billion dollar market capitalization. Among the different types of nanomaterials, carbon nanoparticles have gained much attention in recent years due to their exceptional physicochemical properties. Some of the most popular carbon-based nanomaterials are fullerene (C60), carbon nanohorn, single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), and multi wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT).