Nanomaterials have become a new type of materials with a rapid development of nanotechnology. Nanomaterials have unique physical and chemical properties such as small size effect, large surface area, high reactivity, and quantum effects. These features make the nanoscience as one of the three pillars of the world science. Carbon-based nanomaterials are an important part of nanomaterials, they include carbon nanotubes, fullerene, graphene, nanodiamond and their derivatives. Due to their unique physical and chemical properties, carbon-based nanomaterials have broad applications in the biomedical field. In addition, with the industrialization of nanotechnology, various forms of carbon-based nanomaterials have come into human life in different ways, and the biosafety is increasingly attracting attention of scientists around the world. This article reviews the potential applications of all four types of carbon-based nanomaterials in the biomedical field including tissue engineering, drug/gene carrier, biological imaging, cancer treatment, anti-HIV/anti-bacterial activity, and biological sensing. In addition, the biosafety issue is also reviewed. Finally, we discuss the need for future research. Specifically, we identify the most important research topics, which urgently need to be studied. Contents
1 Introduction
2 The application of carbon-based nanomaterials in the biomedical field
2.1 Tissue engineering
2.2 Drug/gene carrier
2.3 Biological imaging
2.4 Cancer treatment
2.5 Anti-HIV/antibacterial activity
2.6 Biosensor
3 Biosafety assessment of carbon-based nanomaterials
4 Outlook