Issue 37, 2014

Carbon nanomaterials as new tools for immunotherapeutic applications

Abstract

Carbon-based nanomaterials, including carbon nanotubes and graphene, have gained great attention in the scientific community due to their unique physico-chemical properties, which could be also promising in many biomedical-related fields. In particular, their low cytotoxicity, achieved when properly functionalized, along with the possibility to link multiple bioactive molecules, realistically allows envisaging their potential use as a therapeutic platform. In this context, the immune system and immune responses play an important role in our organism, as they are involved either directly or indirectly in many diseases. Therefore, the possibility to prevent or block a disease by controlling and/or modulating the immune responses has become an important task in nanomedicine. In this feature article the advantages of using carbon-based materials in immunotherapy are presented. Important goals achieved using carbon nanotubes and graphene are described, highlighting the promising use of these nanomaterials in cancer treatment, imaging and vaccine development. The capacity of functionalized carbon nanotubes to modulate the immune responses is also discussed, highlighting the current state of the art and the future developments on this subject.

Graphical abstract: Carbon nanomaterials as new tools for immunotherapeutic applications

Article information

Article type
Feature Article
Submitted
09 4 2014
Accepted
07 7 2014
First published
09 7 2014
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2014,2, 6144-6156

Author version available

Carbon nanomaterials as new tools for immunotherapeutic applications

A. Battigelli, C. Ménard-Moyon and A. Bianco, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2014, 2, 6144 DOI: 10.1039/C4TB00563E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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