Abstract: Halloysite nanotube(HNTs) is a new natural aluminosilicate nanometer material. It has many advantages,such as unique nano-tubular structure,high specific surface area,and high reactivity. In recent years,HNTs has had more and more important applications in the field of biomedical transport. In this paper,the structure and properties of HNTs were briefly introduced. The feasibility of HNTs application in biomedical field was analyzed. The researches and applications of HNTs in enzyme immobilization,biological imaging,biological scaffold,targeted transport of cytotoxic drugs and gene,and other aspects of the application,were illustrated emphatically. Compared with traditional inorganic nanomaterials,HNTs has many advantages in the field of biomedical applications such as good immobilization effect,easy chemical modification,high biocompatibility,low toxicity,and high selectivity. Finally,the challenges of the HNTs in the field of biomedicine were pointed out,including long medical results conversion cycle,high medical costs,and unexplained drug release mechanism. The prospects of the HNTs in a series of modern medical technologies,such as disease diagnosis,targeted delivery of drugs and follow-up treatment,were also discussed.

Key words: halloysite, support, enzyme immobilization, drug/gene targeting delivery, biological imaging

摘要： 埃洛石纳米管（HNTs）是一种新型的天然硅铝酸盐类纳米材料，具有独特的纳米管状结构及比表面积大、反应活性高等优点，近年来在生物医学运输领域中突显出愈来愈重要的应用价值。本文简述了HNTs的结构和性质，分析了HNTs在生物医学领域应用的可行性，重点阐述了其在酶固定化、生物显像、生物支架、药物及基因靶向运输治疗等生物医学方面的研究和应用现状，并指出了在上述应用领域中HNTs相对于传统无机纳米材料具有固载效果好、易于化学修饰、生物相容性高、毒性低、靶向选择性高等诸多优势。最后指出了目前HNTs在生物医学领域应用中还存在医疗成果转换周期长、成本效益高和药物释放作用机理不明确等挑战，并对其在疾病诊断、靶向递送药物及追踪治疗效果等一系列现代医疗技术的前景进行了展望。

关键词: 埃洛石纳米管, 载体, 酶固定化, 药物/基因靶向传递, 生物成像