Carbon nanomaterials as new tools for immunotherapeutic applications

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

Double functionalization of carbon nanotubes with purine and pyrimidine derivatives.

Herein, we have developed a synthetic strategy for the covalent double functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with a combination of purine-pyrimidine and purine-purine nucleobase systems. The nucleobases were introduced on the sidewall of oxidized SWCNTs through 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and by amidation of the carboxylic acids located at the tips and defect sites of the nanotubes. The new nanohybrids were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy, and Kaiser test. The nucleobase/SWCNT conjugates can be envisaged for the modulation of the interactions with nucleic acids by means of base pairing, thereby opening new possibilities in the development of DNA/CNT nanobioconjugates.journal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov't2013 Jul2013 05 22importe