ABSTRACT
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely investigated in respect to their excellent electrical, thermal, chemical, and mechanical properties. These result from CNT’s unique sp2 structure with quantum confinement in the circumferential direction, which promotes their use as ultimate fillers in various composite materials with diverse technological applications. Pioneering solutions based on CNTssingle walled (SWCNTs) and multiwalled (MWCNTs)—have been widely explored to endorse relevant breakthroughs in biology’s and medicine’s upmost demands of scaffolding, drug delivering, cell tracking and sensing, and in situ control of cell proliferation and differentiation. Moreover, the outstanding idea that all of these functionalities could be accumulated in unique multifunctional CNT-based smart templates triggered a huge excitement in the tissue engineering field. Their potential inclusion in materials aiming the contact with biological tissues has led to a widespread evaluation of the biological prolife and biosafety of CNTs and functionalized CNTs, reaching the hand of in vitro and in vivo testing. Recent data, attained with highly pure materials, broadly converge to report their biocompatibility, likeminded for clinical applications. Furthermore, the biological activity of living cells, in terms of cell adhesion, viability, and proliferation, seems to be enhanced in a CNT-rich microenvironment, thus supporting the idea to incorporate CNTs in synthetic substrates for tissue engineering applications, namely, those pointing toward replacement, healing, and tissue growth. Among several tissues, CNT applications in muscle-skeletal tissue engineering have caught particular interest, in part because of the relevance of locomotion and mobility for quality of life. The inclusion of either SWCNTs or MWCNTs has been found to improve the mechanical performance of bulk materials, scaffolds, and cements aiming at the regeneration of the bone tissue. CNTs may also provide the opportunity for custom chemical functionalization based on potential application and microenvironment characteristics. Furthermore, CNTs’ inclusion also seems to prompt and improve the biological response related to the bone tissue
19.1 Introduction ......................................................................................455 19.2 Synthesis of CNTs .............................................................................456 19.3 CNT Structure and Properties .......................................................457 19.4 Potential Applications of CNTs ......................................................465 19.5 CNTs for Biomedical Applications ............................................... 466
19.6 Summary and Future Perspectives ................................................482 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................482 References ......................................................................................................483
