Abstract Submitted to the NANOTUBE'05 Conference:

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are of great interest due to their unique electronic, chemical, and mechanical properties for creating new generation electronic devices and networks. Advances in production processes have resulted in obtaining CNT with high structural perfection: relatively large amounts can now be produced of either single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT), or multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). However, high molecular weights and strong intertube forces keep CNT together in bundles, making their manipulation, characterization and analytical investigation very difficult. The organic functionalization offers the great advantage of producing soluble and easy-to-handle CNT. As a consequence, compatibility of CNT with other materials, such as polymers, is expected to improve. In addition, once properly functionalized, CNT become soluble in many solvents, so that their solution properties can be studied. Many functionalized carbon nanotubes may find useful applications in the field of materials science and technology. Also in medicinal chemistry carbon nanotubes are set to play an important role. Their use as drug delivery scaffolds and substrates for vaccines has been already demonstrated. Within this contribution, we will review our most recent achievements in the field of synthesis of functionalized carbon nanotubes and their applications in materials science and medicinal chemistry.