Water Soluble Nanocarbon Materials:A Panacea for All?

The low solubility of nanocarbon materials (fullerenes, CNTs and graphene) has restricted their widespread commercial use. Functionalization, however, helps overcome this major limitation. Much work has been documented recently on water soluble fullerenes (FWS) in treating cancer (e.g. breast cancer), tumours, arthritis, Parkinson’s, influenzas and HIV-AIDS. Even an aqueous nasal spray to combat Alzheimer’s has been advocated. A recent US patent shows that FWS, based on its anti-oxidant activity, is a powerful Radical Oxygen Scavenger. FWS have been used in X-ray imaging, as MRI Contrast Agents (MRI-CA), to make solar cells and could help produce nanodevices and biosensors. This review examines this emerging field.