Functionalized Carbon Nanostructures for Smart Medical Implants

The recent discovery of several forms of carbon nanostructures has sparked research on their potential applications in many disciplines. They may find applications in genetics, medicine, and drug delivery. Due to their unique atomic structure, they are created by rolling graphene sheets into cylindrical tubes. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit outstanding biological, thermal, electrical, and mechanical capabilities. CNTs have been used in numerous technical domains because of their exceptional features. CNTs are now being studied primarily for biomedical purposes, including the development of high-performance composites for implants, drug delivery devices, and hybrid biosensors. Despite numerous studies demonstrating the benefits of CNT-based biomedical devices, their in vivo therapeutic use has not yet been completed. There are still issues with their biosafety, toxicity, and biodegradability. It is unclear how CNTs affect the ecology and the human body, in part because toxicological tests are not consistently conducted, which leads to inconsistent findings. To permit the medicinal application of these remarkable materials, the toxicity of CNTs must be clarified. In this chapter, we provide an overview of recent advancements in the development of implants, drug delivery systems, and biosensors that use CNTs as advanced nanomaterials to detect pathogens, deliver/load drugs, and improve the structural and antibacterial functionality of implants.