Carbon nanomaterials: a rising star in gas therapy—current advances and future perspectives

Despite the considerable potential of gas therapy, the targeted delivery and controlled release of gas molecules remain critical challenges that urgently need to be addressed. Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs), including carbon dots (CDs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene derivatives, graphdiyne (GDY), graphitic carbon nitrides (CNs), and nanodiamonds (NDs), provide an ideal versatile platform to address these limitations, enabling the efficient realization of precision gas therapy and gas-based combination therapies. However, a specialized review that comprehensively summarizes the design principles, working mechanisms, and therapeutic applications of CNMs in gas therapy remains absent. Herein, we provide a systematic review encompassing the structural categories and physicochemical properties of CNMs, the physiological roles and therapeutic mechanisms of medical gases (O₂, NO, CO, H₂S, H₂), as well as the recent progress in CNM-based gas therapy. In particular, this review focuses on two core strategies of CNMs in gas therapy, specifically including delivery of gas donors and autocatalytic gas generation. Finally, biosafety concerns, current challenges, and future directions for clinical translation are discussed. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs), including carbon dots (CDs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene derivatives, graphdiyne (GDY), graphitic carbon nitrides (CNs), and nanodiamonds (NDs), have emerged as a revolutionary class of nanoplatforms bridging materials science and gas medicine. Despite extensive studies on CNMs in gas therapy, a dedicated review that systematically summarizes the design principles, working mechanisms, and therapeutic applications of CNMs in this field is still lacking. To fill this gap, this review systematically elucidates the roles and mechanisms of CNMs in gas therapy and highlights a series of significant research advances achieved in recent years. Finally, this work discusses current challenges and future directions, offering an insightful perspective that may guide the rational design of next-generation nanoplatforms for precision gas therapy and gas-based combination treatments.