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There has been an increasing amount of research on regenerative medicine for the treatment of bone defects. Scaffolds are needed for the formation of new bone, and various scaffolding materials have been evaluated for bone regeneration. Materials with pores that allow cells to differentiate into osteocytes are preferred in scaffolds for bone regeneration, and porous materials and fibers are well suited for this application. Electrospinning is an effective method for producing a nanosized fiber by applying a high voltage to the needle tip containing a polymer solution. The use of electrospun nanofibers is being studied in the medical field, and its use as a scaffold for bone regeneration therapy has become a topic of growing interest. In this review, we will introduce the potential use of electrospun nanofiber as a scaffold for bone regenerative medicine with a focus on carbon nanofibers produced by the electrospinning method., Article, NANOMATERIALS. 10(3):562 (2020)

Double- and triple-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs and TWNTs) consist of coaxially-nested two and three single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). They act as the geometrical bridge between SWNTs and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), providing an ideal model for studying the coupling interactions between different shells in MWNTs. Within this context, this article comprehensively reviews various synthetic routes of DWNTs’ and TWNTs’ production, such as arc discharge, catalytic chemical vapor deposition and thermal annealing of pea pods (i.e., SWNTs encapsulating fullerenes). Their structural features, as well as promising applications and future perspectives are also discussed. Keywords: carbon nanotubes; double-walled carbon nanotubes; triple-walled carbon nanotubes; synthesis; catalytic chemical vapor deposition; arc discharge; fullerenes; pea pods

Double- and triple-walled carbon nanotubes are studied in detail by laser energy-dependent Raman spectroscopy in order to get a deeper understanding about the second-order G[superscript '] band Raman process, general nanotube properties, such as electronic and vibrational properties, and the growth method itself. In this work, the inner nanotubes from the double- and triple-walled carbon nanotubes are produced through the encapsulation of fullerene peapods with high-temperature thermal treatments. We find that the spectral features of the G[superscript '] band, such as the intensity, frequency, linewidth, and line shape are highly sensitive to the annealing temperature variations. We also discuss the triple-peak structure of the G[superscript '] band observed in an individual triple-walled carbon nanotube taken at several laser energies connecting its Raman spectra with that for the G[superscript '] band spectra obtained for bundled triple-walled carbon nanotubes., National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant 1004147)

We present electrical and thermal specific heat measurements that show superconductivity in double-wall carbon nanotube (DWCNT) bundles. Clear evidence, comprising a resistance drop as a function of temperature, magnetoresistance and differential resistance signature of the supercurrent, suggest an intrinsic superconducting transition below 6.8 K for one particular sample. Additional electrical data not only confirm the existence of superconductivity, but also indicate the Tc distribution that can arise from the diversity in the diameter and chirality of the DWCNTs. A broad superconducting anomaly is observed in the specific heat of a bulk DWCNT sample, which yields a Tc distribution that correlates well with the range of the distribution obtained from the electrical data. As quasi one dimensionality of the DWCNTs dictates the existence of electronic density of state peaks, confirmation of superconductivity in this material system opens the exciting possibility of tuning the Tc through the application of a gate voltage., Research Grants Council (Hong Kong, China) (HKUST9/CRF/08), Research Grants Council (Hong Kong, China) (SEG HKUST08), Research Grants Council (Hong Kong, China) (DSC104/05.SC01), Research Grants Council (Hong Kong, China) (VPAAO04/05.SC01), Research Grants Council (Hong Kong, China) (CA04/04.SC02), National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF/DMR 1004147), Brazil. National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Shinshu University (Exotic NanoCarbon Project), Japan. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

Here the authors report the use of either furnace heating or Joule heating to pacify the exposed graphene edges by loop formation in a novel graphitic nanoribbonmaterial, grown by chemical vapor deposition. The edge energy minimization process involves the formation of loops between adjacent graphene layers within the nanoribbons. A comparison is made of the similarities and differences between the loop structures formed using these two methods. An estimation of the temperature of these graphitic nanoribbons during Joule heating is also reported based on the melting and evaporation of Pt nanoparticles., National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant NIRT CTS-05-06830), National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant DMR 07-04197), MIT-CONACYT Collaboration Grant

Although there have been many reports about the cytotoxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), the results are still controversial. To investigate one possible reason, the authors investigated the influence of MWCNT dispersants on cellular uptake and cytotoxicity. Cytotoxicity was examined (measured by alamarBlue® assay), as well as intracellular MWCNT concentration and cytokine secretion (measured by flow cytometry) in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) exposed to a type of highly purified MWCNT vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF®, Showa Denko Kabushiki-gaisha, Tokyo, Japan) in three different dispersants (gelatin, carboxylmethyl cellulose, and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine). The authors also researched the relationship between the intracellular concentration of MWCNTs and cytotoxicity by using two cell lines, BEAS-2B and MESO-1 human malignant pleural mesothelioma cells. The intracellular concentration of VGCF was different for each of the three dispersants, and the levels of cytotoxicity and inflammatory response were correlated with the intracellular concentration of VGCF. A relationship between the intracellular concentration of VGCF and cytotoxic effects was observed in both cell lines. The results indicate that dispersants affect VGCF uptake into cells and that cytotoxicity depends on the intracellular concentration of VGCF, not on the exposed dosage. Thus, toxicity appears to depend on exposure time, even at low VGCF concentrations, because VGCF is biopersistent.