Studies on the Application of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes for the Thermal Treatment of Cancer
Nanomaterials are being investigated for use in a variety of biomedical applications relating to the treatment of diseases such as cancer. Carbon nanotubes in particular have been explored as drug delivery vectors, imaging contrast agents and mediators of tumor-specific thermal ablation when stimulated with near-infrared or radiofrequency energy. Several factors will influence their utility as nanomedicines, chiefly: their compatibility with normal tissues and their efficacy as therapeutic agents. In this thesis we investigated these aspects of the biomedical translation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through three aims: 1) To determine the role of chemical modifications in mediating blood toxicities during intravenous delivery, 2) To determine the cell type-specific effects of nanotube-mediated thermal treatments and 3) To determine the long-term efficacy of nanotube-mediated thermal treatments in a animal model of solid cancer.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations