CHAPTER 6: Carbon Nanomaterials for Neuronal Tissue Engineering

In the last two decades, carbon nanomaterials have attracted great interest in the field of neuronal tissue engineering and regeneration, mainly for their peculiar characteristics of electrical conductivity and biocompatibility. In this chapter an overview of the potential applications of these materials as substrates for the culture of different types of neuronal cells is given, describing the evolution of the research in this field and analyzing all the possible criticalities they present. The focus is put on the most representative members of the carbon nanomaterial family, namely carbon nanotubes and graphene, but other carbon allotropes are also mentioned.