Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Pharmaceutics, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) - Ahmedabad, Opposite Air Force Station Palaj, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382355, India. rakeshtekade@gmail.com mallikarjunarao@imu.edu.my
  • 2 School of Postgraduate Studies and Research, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Centre for Bioactive Molecules & Drug Delivery, Institute for Research Development & Innovation, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Nanoscale, 2018 May 17;10(19):8911-8937.
PMID: 29722421 DOI: 10.1039/c8nr01383g

Abstract

The search for effective and non-invasive delivery modules to transport therapeutic molecules across skin has led to the discovery of a number of nanocarriers (viz.: liposomes, ethosomes, dendrimers, etc.) in the last few decades. However, available literature suggests that these delivery modules face several issues including poor stability, low encapsulation efficiency, and scale-up hurdles. Recently, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) emerged as a versatile tool to deliver therapeutics across skin. Superior stability, high loading capacity, well-developed synthesis protocol as well as ease of scale-up are some of the reason for growing interest in CNTs. CNTs have a unique physical architecture and a large surface area with unique surface chemistry that can be tailored for vivid biomedical applications. CNTs have been thus largely engaged in the development of transdermal systems such as tuneable hydrogels, programmable nonporous membranes, electroresponsive skin modalities, protein channel mimetic platforms, reverse iontophoresis, microneedles, and dermal buckypapers. In addition, CNTs were also employed in the development of RNA interference (RNAi) based therapeutics for correcting defective dermal genes. This review expounds the state-of-art synthesis methodologies, skin penetration mechanism, drug liberation profile, loading potential, characterization techniques, and transdermal applications along with a summary on patent/regulatory status and future scope of CNT based skin therapeutics.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.