Carbon Nanomaterials in Pharmaceutical Sciences: Exploring Antibacterial, Antiviral, and Anticancer Properties

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon nanomaterials comprise a novel class of materials with unique properties that can provide information about the health of certain cells, tissues, and organs: they accumulate in the target tissue/organ, perform desired and controlled treatments, inform us about the course of treatment, and are finally eliminated from the body without side effects. Multifaceted treatments for infectious diseases or cancer using one or more carbon nanomaterials can provide a platform for personalized medicine, which is a major goal in the 21st century.

Almost 40 years have passed since the discovery of the first carbon nanomaterial, fullerene C60. In the meantime, novel carbon nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, nanodiamonds, graphene, and graphene and carbon quantum dots have been produced. The discoveries of fullerene and graphene led to two Nobel prizes. The unique physical, chemical, and biomedical properties of carbon nanomaterials can be exploited for treatment for a range of diseases. Although carbon nanomaterials have numerous advantages over existing drugs in the treatment of diseases, their application is still at a very low level. The main obstacles to their widespread application are their price, efficiency, and toxicity. Therefore, it is very important to study the biomedical applications of carbon nanomaterials, as well as the mechanisms of direct/indirect interaction between carbon nanomaterials and simple and complex cells and tissues.

This Special Issue aims to focus on antitumor and antimicrobial applications for carbon nanomaterials. Studies focusing on all aspects of these applications are welcome.

For this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles and reviews. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• The detection of cancer/infectious disease in the early stage: highly efficient biosensors and biosensing chips;
• The targeted delivery of carbon nanomaterials to desired locations (cancer/infectious tissue) where treatments will take place;
• The controlled treatment of cancer/infectious diseases using external or internal triggers: electromagnetic or stationary magnetic fields, pH triggering, and other smart-based solutions;
• Delivering information on the course of treatment for cancer/infectious diseases;
• The design of multifunctional/multinanoparticle aggregates (2D, 1D, 0D) for the treatment of cancer/infectious diseases;
• The design and characterization of polymer/hydrogel composites with carbon nanomaterials for the treatment of cancer/infectious diseases;
• Renal/nonrenal pathways to eliminate carbon nanomaterials from the body;
• The toxicity of certain carbon nanomaterial/polymer/hydrogel composites and its effect on the occurrence of cancer/infectious diseases.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Zoran M. Marković
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceutics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• carbon nanomaterials
• polymer and hydrogel composites
• biosensors
• antimicrobial applications
• antitumor applications