Revista de Engenharia Química e Tecnologia de Processos
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Nanoimaging with nanoengineered particles

Gerard Tobias

Carbon nanotubes have been advocated as promising agents for in vivo imaging, tumour targeting and drug delivery systems. When carbon nanotubes are combined with inorganic compounds, the resulting hybrid materials benefit not only from the properties of their constituent nanomaterials but also from synergistic effects. The most explored approach consists on the external decoration of carbon nanotubes with inorganic nanoparticles. One advantage of using carbon nanotubes though is that their inner cavity can be employed for the encapsulation of a chosen payload. The outer surface remains available and can be subsequently modified to attach biomolecules with the aim of improving the dispersability and biocompatibility of the developed hybrids. Even for targeting agents can be anchored to the external surface.In this talk we will see some examples on both the external decoration of carbon nanotubes with inorganic nanoparticles and the encapsulation of a variety of inorganic payloads. The resulting hybrid materials find application in biomedical imaging and are being explored as therapeutic agents