Current researches on the mechanisms of carbon nanotubes entering cells and their location in the cells.
- Author:
Fumin JIA
1
;
Haiyan XU
Author Information
1. Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, China.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- MeSH:
Cells;
metabolism;
Diffusion;
Endocytosis;
Nanotubes, Carbon;
chemistry
- From:
Journal of Biomedical Engineering
2010;27(1):198-210
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Carbon nanotube (CNT) is an important class of artificial nanomaterials with diverse potentials of nanobiomedical application. Before being introduced into bio-systems, it is necessary to explore the behavior and fate of CNTs in cells. However, limited understandings or information has been currently obtained in this realm, even some experimental results from different labs are conflicted. In this review, we focused on the location of CNTs in various cells as well as on the mechanisms of CNTs crossing the cell membranes. On the basis of data analysis shown by the current literatures, it was suggested that CNTs could enter cell's nucleus in certain conditions. Endocytosis and diffusion both exist; however, in some cases, one of them exhibited as major path, while the other one was not detectable because of the challenge resulting from the complex biological environments. The obstacles to powerful and standard characterizations of CNTs have also been discussed.
