Carbon nano-onions as potential nanocarriers for drug delivery

Nanocarriers are nano-sized delivery vesicles that can transport desired molecules to a specific location. The utilisation of nanocarriers for targeted drug-delivery is an emerging field that aims to solve certain disadvantages of free drug delivery; including premature drug degradation, non-specific toxicity, lack of tissue penetration, undesired side-effects, and multi-drug resistance. The nanocarrier approach has proven effective in this regard, with some examples of FDA approved nanocarrier systems available on the market. In this perspective, we investigate the potential of carbon nano-onions (CNOs) as nanocarriers for drug delivery. The various criteria and considerations for designing a nanocarrier are outlined, and we thoroughly discuss how CNOs fit these criteria. Given the rapidly developing interest in CNOs, this perspective provides a baseline discussion for the use of this novel carbon nanomaterial as a potential nanocarrier for drug delivery.