Biodistribution of functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes in mice

With the application of carbon nanotubes in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences, its basic biological properties in vivo have become an issue of strong concern. Water-soluble functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were labeled with radioactive Tc-99m atoms, and then a tracer was used to study the distribution of MWNTs modified with glucosamine in mice. It shows that MWNTs moved easily among the compartments and tissues of the body, behaving like active molecules although their apparent mean molecular weight is tremendously large. In this study, water-soluble M''WNTs were labeled with Tc-99m for the first time, and all results on the distribution of MWNTs in animals provide useful data for their use in the biomedical field. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.