Carbon nanomaterials including single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and graphene derivatives serve as a basis of multiple molecular imaging and biological sensing device applications. However, those applications are still mainly centered on a single analyte sensing or the delivery of one particular therapeutic. Structure-dependent band gap configuration of SWCNTs was shown and that of graphene derivatives provides a promise of multiwavelength imaging in near-infrared or visible spectral regions. We utilize these structural characteristics of nanocarbons to provide multidrug delivery and/or multicolor imaging for complex medical conditions requiring combination therapies such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). It is so far, a non-curable condition present in 6-8% of adults in the US. The progression of NASH is mediated mainly via fibrosis and inflammation interlinked through the production of cytokines. The treatment of this complex condition requires targeting of several factors at once. We utilize (6,5) and (7,5) SWCNT samples chirality-separated by aqueous two-phase extraction for the delivery and drug-specific in-vitro imaging of drug and gene therapeutics targeting inflammation and fibrosis. These active agents, each bound non-covalently to SWCNT sample enriched in a specific chirality and purified from the sorting surfactants, are delivered to HepG2 cells and imaged via characteristic SWCNT emission in the near-IR. Hyperspectral microscopy imaging at select wavelengths corresponding to resonant transitions of (6,5) and (7,5) SWCNTs allows to preferentially track the presence of SWCNTs bound to each specific therapeutic. Furthermore, therapeutic effects of each formulation are assessed separately via protein and cytotoxicity assays allowing to utilize remarkable properties of SWCNTs for multimodal imaging and multidrug/gene delivery for NASH therapeutics.

In addition to selective imaging by different SWCNT chiralities we explore multiwavelength biological imaging from the same nanomaterial produced through synthetic modification of nanoscale graphene derivatives and yielding dual-color green/near-IR emission. These fully biocompatible nanocarbons provide efficient internalization and in-vitro imaging in green (530 nm) with higher quantum yields and in near-IR (850 nm) water window region with decreased biological autofluorescence more optimal for ex-vivo and some in-vivo studies. Such new nanocarbon materials build a basis of multipurpose in-vitro/in-vivo multifunctional imaging/delivery agents.