Fluorescently Labeled Carbon Nanohorns as Intracellular Drug Delivery Vehicles

Nanomaterials have been investigated for biomedical applications due to their unique properties. Their shape, size, surface, and material can be altered specifically for the type of application. Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) have been effectively utilized as photoabsorbers to enhance laser-based therapies [1] and can be easily loaded with drugs or targeting moieties [2, 3]. The strong carbon bonds in this material provide a chemical and mechanical inertness that can serve as a barrier to protect chemotherapeutic agents from degrading quickly as they are transported to the site of interest [2].Copyright © 2012 by ASME