Carbon nanotubes for in vivo cancer nanotechnology

The latest progress of using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for in vivo cancer nanotechnology is reviewed. CNTs can be functionalized by either covalent or non-covalent chemistry to produce functional bioconjugates for many in vivo applications. In vivo behaviors and toxicology studies of CNTs are summarized, suggesting no significant toxicity of well functionalized CNTs to the treated mice. Owing to their unique chemical and physical properties, CNTs, especially single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), have been widely used for various modalities of in vivo cancer treatment and imaging. Future development of CNT-based nanomedicine may bring novel opportunities to cancer diagnosis and therapy.