Fullerene release from the inside of carbon nanotubes: A possible route toward drug delivery

The filling and depletion of carbon nanotubes with C-60 fullerenes is reported using solvents. We use X-ray diffractometry and. Raman spectroscopy to show that large diameter carbon nanotubes can be filled with fullerenes using methanol with a high efficiency and can be also removed from the inside of the tubes using dichlorobenzene. The latter solvent effectively removes weakly bound C-60s from inside the large diameter tubes, which is explained by the high solubility of C-60 in dichlorchenzene. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.