Synthesis and Biomedical Applications of Carbon Nanotubes碳纳米管的制备及其在生物医学中的应用.docVIP

PAGE PAGE 1 Synthesis and Biomedical Applications of Carbon Nanotubes Siddharth Potnis Abstract The evolution of carbon nanotubes took place in 1991 when a Japanese electron microscopist Sumio Iijima studied the material deposited on the cathode during arc-evaporation synthesis. In his study he found the deposition of closed graphite structures including nanoparticles and nanotubes in the central core of the cathode which led to the discovery of carbon nanotubes. A major event in the development of carbon nanotubes was the synthesis of single layer nanotubes in 1993. The applications of carbon nanotubes ranges in variety of different fields like semiconductors, field emission, conductive plastics, energy storage, conductive adhesives and connectors, molecular electronics, thermal materials, structural composites, biomedical applications, and catalyst supports. The paper focuses mainly on the applications of the carbon nanotubes in the biomedical field. Inspite of having applications in various fields there are still a few potential problems with carbon nanotubes like cost, processing and assembly method of single walled nanotubes, application to hydrogen storage, application in fuel cells, presence of oxygen along with carbon in the manufacturing of tube which have to be analyzed. Accruing to this a new technique called as Self-Assembly Challenge is under study which promises to give a new edge to this industry.  I) Introduction: Carbon nanotubes are one of the best finds in the field of nanotechnology, derived by bottom up chemical synthesis approach [5]. These are simple in chemical composition but have extremely diverse applications [5]. In 1991, Japanese scientist Sumio Iijima’s studies regarding the deposition of material on a cathode during arc-vapour synthesis led to the discovery of carbon nanotubes [1]. His experiments found the deposition of closed graphite structures along with nanoparticles and nanotube in the central core of the cathode [1]. His