Carbon-based Nanocages Production

CD Bioparticles is a leading manufacturer and supplier of various drug delivery products, including carbon-based nanocages for R&D and commercialization in a variety of application areas. Carbon-based nanomaterials such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, nanodiamonds, and graphene and its derivatives have unique electronic, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties and have attracted considerable attention in recent years in nanomedicine.

Introduction to Carbon-based Nanocages

Carbon-based nanocages, namely, fullerene, carbon nanotubes, and graphene, have attracted significant attention since their discoveries, and they have been playing a significant role in nanoscience and nanotechnology these days. Carbon nanocage contains cage-type mesopore arrays of large surface areas and pore volumes, which greatly exceed those previously available in conventional mesoporous carbon materials such as CMK-3. Their electrical and electrochemical properties and their interaction with biomolecules make them good candidates in a diverse range of biomedical applications such as drug delivery or biosensors. Furthermore, modification of their surfaces with functional groups (carboxylic acid, hydroxyl, and epoxy) allows the opportunity to optimize their properties. The biological safety of carbon-based nanocages, which is related to their aqueous stability and interactions with cells and tissues, is one of the fundamental issues for their practical biomedical application.

1. Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs)

Structurally, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is a one-atom-thick sheet of graphite rolled into a tube with a diameter of one nanometer, which exhibits different properties depending solely on how the nanotubes are rolled. Based on the number of graphene layers in the cylindrical tubes, CNTs are classified as single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The poor dispersibility of CNTs is one of the biggest barriers for their use in nanomedicine. More recent research has suggested strategies to improve the biocompatibility of CNTs through surface modification of the materials and has also demonstrated the susceptibility for enzymatic degradation of CNTs. Several polymers, metals, and biological molecules have been used to graft to the surface of carboxylated CNTs.

CNTs have been studied intensively as drug carriers, with Dox being the most common model drug. Drugs may be loaded onto CNTs through noncovalent interactions, e.g., π-π stacking, although covalent binding has also been explored for hydrophilic drugs. Their intrinsic spectroscopic properties, including raman scattering and photoluminescence, can provide valuable means for tracking, detecting and imaging diseases. They can also help monitor in vivo therapy status, pharmacodynamical behavior and drug delivery efficiency.

2. Graphene

Graphene is another promising material for drug delivery. It is a single atomic layer of sp² hybridized carbon atoms that has been much studied because of its novel mechanical and electrical properties. Graphene has a poly-aromatic surface structure with an ultrahigh surface area, which is available to solubilize and bind drug molecules via p–p stacking for applications in drug delivery. They have the potential to act as drug delivery vehicles if sufficiently high drug loading and suitable in vivo drug distribution and release profiles can be achieved. Recently, Graphene oxide (GO) based nanocarriers have gained significant attention for anticancer drug delivery and imaging due to their high drug loading and effective delivery capacity. Their specific surface area reaches approximately 2600 m² g^-1, which is more than double that of most nanomaterials. Moreover, unlike pristine graphene, GO exhibits high water dispersibility and endows pH-dependent negative surface charge to maintain high colloidal stability.

3. Fullerenes

Fullerenes, especially C₆₀, have received widespread attention as drug and gene delivery vehicles. The stable cage-like structure of fullerenes provides an abundant room for the encapsulation of atoms, molecules, and ions. It allows the construction of molecular or particulate entities, where one or more functional groups are covalently attached to the fullerene cage surface in a geometrically controlled manner. This is applicable for the targeted delivery of drugs across biological membranes and receptor ligands for agonizing or antagonizing cellular and enzymatic processes. Fullerenes can self-assemble into vesicles called fullerosomes, which can act as multivalent drug delivery vehicles with the possibility of different targeting properties.

4. Nanodiamonds (NDs)

Nanodiamonds (NDs) are sp3 carbon nanoparticles that consist of crystal domains with a diamondoid-like topology and diameters that are greater than 1−2 nm but less than 20 nm. NDs are nanocrystals that consist of tetrahedrally bonded carbon atoms in the form of a three-dimensional (3D) cubic lattice. Thus, this structure imparts the properties of a diamond and an onion-shaped carbon shell containing a coating of functional groups on its surface. NDs can be easily functionalized with different ligand molecules, which are used as platforms for the conjugation of various biological molecules, chemical compounds and drugs.

Figure 1. Members of the carbon-based nanocage family. (D’ Amora, M., et al. Smart nanoparticles for Biomedicine, 2018, 103-113)

Our Carbon-based Nanocages Featured Services

CD Bioparticles is specialized in the development of drug delivery systems and customizing nanoparticles for drug delivery utilizing our core technologies. With our high-quality products and services, the efficacy of your drug delivery can be tremendously improved.

We offer well-designed carbon-based nanocages as fullerene, carbon nanotubes, and graphene and its derivatives. Clients may select the material type, particle size, size distribution, and/or surface functional groups such as carboxyl. And we also provide custom services for designing and synthesizing carbon-based nanomaterials with special required drugs loading, together with its analysis and characterization before and after drug encapsulation.

Quotations and Ordering

References:
1. Georgakilas, V., Perman, J. A., Tucek, J., Zboril, R. Broad family of carbon nanoallotropes: classification, chemistry, and applications of fullerenes, carbon dots, nanotubes, graphene, nanodiamonds, and combined superstructures. Chemical reviews, 2015, 115(11), 4744-4822.
2. Bhattacharya, K., Mukherjee, S. P., Gallud, A., Burkert, S. C., Bistarelli, S., Bellucci, S., Fadeel, B. Biological interactions of carbon-based nanomaterials: from coronation to degradation. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine, 2016, 12(2), 333-351.
3. Patel, K., Singh, R., Kim, H. W. Carbon based-nanomaterials as an emerging platform for theranostics. Materials Horizons. 2018.