Drug Delivery Using Carbon Nanomaterials

Carbon nanomaterials (CNs) possess unique physical, chemical, and physiological properties that make them highly valuable as carriers for biologically important molecules. However, their use is limited due to potential health and environmental effects. Nevertheless, CNs exhibit great potential in drug delivery owing to their high biocompatibility and surface area. Fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphenes, carbon nanodiamonds, porous carbon, and carbon dots are all CNs with broad applicability in drug delivery due to their small size and biological activity. Additionally, they can be customized with targeting ligands to deliver drugs to specific diseased cells or tissues and improve drug stability and solubility, resulting in better therapeutic outcomes. Recently, functionalized CNs with efficient drug-loading capacity, biocompatibility, and immunogenicity have been developed. These CNs have a high surface area, multifunctional surface chemistry, and excellent optical activity. Enzymatic degradation, surface modification, biological interactions, and biocorona play critical roles in achieving effective drug delivery. Recent advancements in carbon-based drug delivery hold the potential to improve disease treatment. CNs can be customized with bioactive peptides, proteins, nucleic acids, and drugs to create composites with low toxicity and high pharmaceutical efficacy. This chapter delves into the potential of CNs in drug delivery for various human diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative conditions, tuberculosis, fungal infections, and other issues.