OVERVIEW ON THE MAJOR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES ON CARBON NANOTUBES BEING DONE IN AMERICA, EUROPE AND ASIA - Carbon Nanotubes: From Bench Chemistry to Promising Biomedical Applications - page 242

Chapter 9
OVERVIEW ON THE MAJOR RESEARCH
ACTIVITIES ON CARBON NANOTUBES BEING
DONE IN AMERICA, EUROPE AND ASIA
Cécilia Ménard-Moyon a and Giorgia Pastorin b
a Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, UPR 9021, CNRS, Immunologie et Chimie
Thérapeutiques, 67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France
b Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore
[e-mail]
9.1 INTRODUCTION
In the last few decades, several research groups around the world have
focused their attention on the ield of nanotechnology, dealing with advanced
techniques and applied science through the use of nanomaterials. Such
systems in nanoscale dimensions have been shown to revolutionise the way
scientists approach conventional research and to combine diverse expertise
towards exciting discoveries. Among the materials that have integrated
different disciplines to the highest extent, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent
a fascinating example. The reason at the basis of the high signiicance of CNTs
is associated with their unique physicochemical properties, including not
only high thermal and mechanical stability or nanometric dimensions (which
enable the production of durable and compact systems), but also their ability
to share electronic properties of both metals and semiconductors 1,2 (which
can be applied in the fabrication of ultra-sensitive devices). In addition, they
present a large inner volume that could be illed with several biomolecules, 3,4
while imparting chemical properties through the functionalisation of their
external walls (which render CNTs water soluble and biocompatible). 5-9 As a