Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes as Gene Carriers

This chapter covers discussion of the history on the development of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the updates on their modifications and applications as gene carriers. In the first part, it concentrates on the illustration of methods for graft of various functional groups and ligands on the surface of single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (i.e., SWCNTs and MWCNTs, respectively). Emphasis is placed on the types of bond formation during the functionalization of pristine CNTs. Many established ligands are presented. The second part concentrates on the discussion of interactions between functionalized CNTs (f-CNTs) with genes or oligonucleotides. These include electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bonding, π–π stacking, etc. The third part outlines the gene targets of f-CNTs. Factors associated with the design on the formation of hybrids of genes@f-CNTs and deploy of the genes from the hybrids are depicted. The entire strategy and practical methods for the hybrid formation and dissociation are the keys to the success on their applications to modern gene therapy.