Carbon Nanotubed Mediated Drug Delivery Approach Using Novel Antimicrobials

<p><strong>Original Conference Abstract</strong></p> <p> The idea of employing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as potential drug delivery vehicles is more than a decade old but a still emerging hot topic in the field. What still keep this topic so hot are not only the outstanding physical/chemical (high aspect ratio, strength, functionality...) properties of CNTs that have initially attracted scientists, but especially their potential side effects on the biological systems that left the researchers unconvinced for many years. The lack of standardized research methodology resulting in conflicting conclusions on the side effects of these unnatural/artificial materials have caused the CNTs to be highly questioned for the employment in biological applications. Consequently, the question of “whether the CNTs are really toxic” has become the most popular research problem.<br> In the light of the conflicting literature data and the “unanswered toxicity” problems, CNT mediated cellular delivery of CNTs has been taken under investigation using novel antimicrobial agents. The recent study is not only expected to bring the novel antimicrobials into use but also to give answers on: i) the most reliable and stable methods for CNT functionalizations, ii) the most appropriate intra-cellular delivery mechanism for the drug, iii) the fate of CNTs after drug delivery, their bio-compatibility, iv) effects of different variables in the CNT properties, and, v) target based outcomes of the novel antimicrobial utilization in CNT research in comparison to the other reported active agents.<strong> </strong></p> <p> </p> <p>(The poster was awarded the "3rd Best Poster Award" at <em>Bioinnovation & ScanBalt Forum - International Conference on Molecular Biotechnology and Innovations for Healthy Life, Gdańsk | 16-18 of October 2013</em>)