Magnetic carbon nanotubes (MCNTs) have been widely studied for their potential applications in medicine, diagnosis, cell biology, analytical chemistry, and environmental technology. Introduction of MCNTs paved the way for the emergence of new approaches in nanobiotechnology and biomedicine as a result of their multifarious properties embedded within either the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or magnetic parts. Numerous preparation techniques exists for functionalizing CNTs with magnetic nanoparticles, and these versatile strategies lay the ground for the generation of novel and versatile systems which are applicable to many industries and biological areas. Here, we review and discuss the recent papers dealing with MCNTs and their application in biomedical and industrial fields.

Magnetic nanoparticles have properties that cause to apply them in cancer therapy and vehicles for the delivery of drugs such as 5FU, especially when they are modified with biocompatible copolymers. The aim of this study is to modify superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONPs) with PCL-PEG-PCL copolymers and then utilization of these nanoparticles for encapsulation of anticancer drug 5FU. The ring-opening polymerization (ROP) was used for the synthesis of PCL-PEG-PCL copolymer by ε-caprolactone (PCL) and polyethylene glycol (PEG2000). We used the double emulsion method (water/oil/water) to prepare 5FU-encapsulated Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles modified with PCL-PEG-PCL copolymer. Chemical structure and magnetic properties of 5FU-loaded magnetic-polymer nanoparticles were investigated systematically by employing FT-IR, XRD, VSM and SEM techniques. In vitro release profile of 5FU-loaded NPs was also determined. The results showed that the encapsulation efficiency value for nanoparticles were 90%. Moreover, the release of 5FU is significantly higher at pH 5.8 compared to pH 7.4. Therefore, these nanoparticles have sustained release and can apply for cancer therapy.