Carbon Nanohybrids as Electro-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems

Title:Carbon Nanohybrids as Electro-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems

Volume: 16 Issue: 8

Author(s): Giuseppe Cirillo, Umile Gianfranco Spizzirri, Manuela Curcio, Silke Hampel, Orazio Vittorio, Donatella Restuccia, Nevio Picci and Francesca Iemma

Affiliation:

Keywords: Electro Responsive drug delivery, Hydrogels, Carbon Nanotubes, Graphene.Electro Responsive drug delivery, Hydrogels, Carbon Nanotubes, Graphene.

Abstract: Electro-responsive nanomaterials are usually made with polyelectrolytes able to undergo shrinkage or swelling by tuning on electrical fields. Nevertheless, the electrical conductivity of many polymeric materials used for the fabrication of release devices is not high enough to achieve an effective modulation of the drug release. The incorporation of conducting materials (e.g. carbon nanostructures) in polymeric networks has been proposed as a valuable strategy to overcome this limitation. In this regard, carbon nanotubes and graphene, by virtue of their unique chemical structures and attractive physiochemical properties, have been receiving exciting attention primarily in biology and medicine. By their incorporation into composite hydrogels, the biocompatibility and biodegradability of polymers can be merged with the favorable properties of carbon nanostructures, such as enhanced cellular uptake, electromagnetic, and magnetic behavior. The applicability of carbon hybrid materials to modulate release of therapeutics in response to an external current voltage, is being extensively investigated in the present review.

Cite this article as:

Cirillo Giuseppe, Spizzirri Gianfranco Umile, Curcio Manuela, Hampel Silke, Vittorio Orazio, Restuccia Donatella, Picci Nevio and Iemma Francesca, Carbon Nanohybrids as Electro-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems, Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry 2016; 16 (8) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1389557515666150709104444