Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
TABLE 6.1
Applications of CNTs
CNTs Property
Applications
References
1. Structural
Textiles—CNT can make waterproof and/or tear-resistant fabrics
Body armor—Combat jackets that use CNT fibers to stop bullets
and to monitor the condition of the wearer
Polyethylene—Adding CNT to polyethylene can increase the
polymer's elastic modulus by 30%
Synthetic muscles—Owing to their high contraction/extension ratio
given an electric current, CNTs are ideal for synthetic muscle
High tensile strength fibers—Fibers produced with polyvinyl
alcohol required 600 J/g to break
www.mit.edu, Ali et al.
(2009), Alan et al. (2003)
2. Electromagnetic
Artificial muscles—CNTs have sufficient contractility to make
them candidates to replace muscle tissue
Magnets—MWCNT coated with magnetite can generate strong
magnetic fields. Recent advances show that MWCNT decorated
with magnemite nanoparticles can be oriented in a magnetic field
and enhance the electrical properties of the composite material in
the direction of the field
Superconductor
Ultracapacitors
Transistors
www.newscientist.com,
Rina Tannenbaum et al.
(2010, 2011), Tang et al.
(2001)
3. Chemical
Desalination—Water molecules can be separated from salt by
forcing them through networks of CNTs, which require far lower
pressures than conventional reverse osmosis methods
Air pollution filter—CNT membranes can filter carbon dioxide
from power plant emissions
Biotech container—CNT can be filled with biological molecules,
aiding biotechnology
Ken et al. (2011), www.
sciencedaily.com
4. Mechanical
Oscillator—Oscillators based on CNT have achieved higher speeds
than other technologies (>50 GHz)
Nanotube membrane—CNTs as filters in membranes have a high
specific surface area and high flux that results in fast flow rates for
gases and liquids. Liquids flow up to five orders of magnitude
faster than predicted by classical fluid dynamics
Sholl and Johnson (2006),
Mainak et al. (2005)
5. Medical
Biological sensor
Kanzius cancer therapy—SWCNTs are inserted around cancerous
cells, and then excited with radio waves, which cause them to heat
up and kill the surrounding cells
Materials for bone cell proliferation
Bone formation
Multifunctional drug-delivery systems with intended diagnosis and
targeting purposes
O'Connell et al. (2002),
Cherukuri et al. (2004),
Haddon et al. (2006), Shi
et al. (2007), Balaji et al.
(2008), Dalton (2005)
the inhalation of air. After entering the lungs, they distribute rapidly in the central nervous system,
peripheral nervous system, lymph, blood, heart, spleen, kidney, bone marrow, and liver (Singh et al.,
2006, Kayat et al., 2011). Parameters such as the structure (SWCNTs or MWCNTs), size distribu-
tion, surface area, surface chemistry, surface charge, concentration, dose, and agglomeration state,
as well as the purity of the samples, have a considerable impact on the reactivity and toxicity of
CNTs (Jelena et al., 2007). The toxicity of CNTs has been attributed mainly due to their fiber-
shaped, nano-sized structure (Monteiller et al., 2007, Donaldson et al., 2006). The nanoparticulate
nanotubes are better dispersed in the lung tissues, resulting in higher toxicities. The needle-like
