Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Studied for clean energy, carbon nanotubes find new potential in anticancer drug delivery: Short carbon nanotubes in liposome membranes help fuse the liposomes and cancer cells to directly deliver a cancer-killing drug

Fundamental science often finds applications beyond its original focus. Previously, scientists found applications for small diameter carbon nanotube porins in energy technology. Nanotube porins are tubes with walls just molecules thick that act as pores through the walls of a thin membrane of liposomes, a type of tiny synthetic particle. Scientists have now assembled these nanotubes in a new way to deliver a cancer drug. The key is that the nanotubes pull the liposomes and the cancer cells together, allowing the membranes of the liposome and cancer to mix. This fusion process allows the drug to freely pass from the liposome to the cell. This results in very effective delivery of the anticancer drug doxorubicin, killing up to 90 percent of diseased cells.