Carbon Nanotube Tube Filled Polymer Nanocomposites and Their Applications in Tissue Engineering

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that belong to the family of fullerenes are considered as building blocks of nanotechnology. There has been intense interest in reinforced composites made with CNTs because of their unusual physical properties and large application potential, covering a broad range in nanotechnology. With their remarkable tensile strength, high resilience, flexibility, and other superlative electrical and physico-chemical properties, CNTs have been of paramount importance to researchers in recent years. Their large surface area together with the above mentioned properties have also made CNTs and their derivatives very attractive potential candidates for nanoelectronics, nanolithography, composite materials, sensors, optical actuators, biomolecular recognition, and biomedical applications, including DNA-modification, drug delivery, and gene delivery. This chapter will give an insight into preparation, properties and types of CNTs; their application in improving the mechanical, rheological, thermal and electrical properties of composites. It also discusses in detail how CNTs based composites are used in tissue engineering and explore their cell compatibility.