Applications of nanomaterials inside cells

The successful and explosive development of nanomaterials inevitably leads to their intersections with biology and medicine, which results in increased efforts on nanobiotechnology (or bionanotechnology) research. To focus on one of the most important and fascinating subjects in nanobiotechnology, this review describes the applications of various types of nanomaterials inside cells ranging from cell imaging and cell tracking to cancer treatment. We bring forth the examples with different types of nanomaterials acting inside cells and discuss the challenges and perspectives for their relevant biomedical applications. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.