Carbon nanomaterials are some of the state-of-the-art materials used in drug-delivery and tissue-engineering research. Compared with traditional materials, carbon nanomaterials have the advantages of large specific surface areas and unique properties and are more suitable for use in drug delivery and tissue engineering after modification. Their characteristics, such as high drug loading and tissue loading, good biocompatibility, good targeting and long duration of action, indicate their great development potential for biomedical applications. In this paper, the synthesis and application of carbon dots (CDs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene in drug delivery and tissue engineering are reviewed in detail. In this review, we discuss the current research focus and existing problems of carbon nanomaterials in order to provide a reference for the safe and effective application of carbon nanomaterials in drug delivery and tissue engineering.

A Co(II) metal–organic framework (MOF) based on the pyridyl-amide-carboxylate-3-(2-pyridinecarboxylic acid)amido pyridine (HPCAP) ligand, namely [Co(PCAP)₂]·2H₂O (1), has been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized, which was firstly used as a combined catalyst precursor to synthesize multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The decomposition of ethylene in the presence of the Co-MOF by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method at 800 °C led to successful production of high quality as-grown MWCNT products. Interestingly, the as-grown MWCNTs exhibit high performance in the selective adsorption of Congo red (CR) with an adsorption capacity of 1639 mg g⁻¹.

A Zn-CP exhibits remarkable fluorescence behaviours and stability in a wide range of pH values. It can become an outstanding candidate in the selective sensing of Fe³⁺, Mg²⁺, Cr₂O₇²⁻, MnO₄⁻, NB and NM at a lower detection limit.

An N-doped graphene-supported CoP@Co ₃ O ₄ core–shell structure was prepared by a simple one-step pyrolysis of a novel Co-MOF. The active nanoparticles embedded in the graphene layer ensure high conductivity and stability of the catalyst.