A Review on the Properties and Application of Carbon Nanotubes as Biological Nanomotors: Advantages and Challenges

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an important class of nanomaterials that have numerous properties which make them promising candidates in technology and industry. CNTs have unique properties and applications due to their higher electrical conductivity, strong strength, flexibility, small size etc. They have a very high strength to weight ratio as compared to other drug delivery systems. Therefore, CNTs can be a very good candidate for application in the medical field. Previously, the application of CNTs has been emphasized in the medical field as these can be used as nanomotors to deliver drugs inside human/animal body. A nanomotor is a nanoscale device which can convert externally supplied energy into mechanical motion. In this review we discussed the various types of nanomotors based on their structure and propulsion mechanism. We focused on the different types of biological nanomotors and their applications in the drug delivery systems. We reviewed how biological nanomotors behave when some external drugs are attached on its sidewall/ends using Molecular Orbital PACkage (MOPAC) software. By using this method, CNT based nanomotors can also be used in other fields such as water purification, air purification, sensing etc. The main advantages and the challenges in these applications are also discussed towards the end of this review.