ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the studies on the interactions between carbon nanomaterials (CNM) and nucleic acids (NA), especially deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and RNA, followed by the applications of the complexes in gene and cancer therapy. It discusses different noncovalent and covalent conjugations of single-stranded DNA and double-stranded DNA or RNA using carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide (GO) as carriers. GO is characterized by a basal plane composed of two domains consisting of a low-polar area that resembles the graphene surface and a polar defected surface characterized by the presence of oxygenated functions. NAs have considerable potential as therapeutic agents, either as gene expression systems for gene therapy or for knocking down genes. The first investigations into gene delivery focused on the use of viral vectors due to their strong transgene expression. CNMs have been studied as potential nanocarriers of NAs in gene therapy and cancer treatment.
