HIV, well, no... (Score 2)

The V stands for Virus, and as we all know virii aren't really alive (they don't pass the "Does it poop?" test).

Virii introduce themselves into the host cell, splice their own RNA into the DNA of the cell, and then allow the cell to act like a little virus factory to crank out copies of the original virus. The cell fills up with these copies and pops when it surpasses critical containment volume, releasing all the copies to repeat the process with other host cells.

So there is no point in using a nanotube to pop the host cell, as this will simply do what is going to happen anyway.

To stop virii in general, it helps to inhibit the virus's ability to splice its RNA into the host cell's DNA. This approach is where the most promising and effective HIV treatments reside today. However, the only way to whack a virus is to get the body's own destroyer cells to eat them. This is difficult to do with HIV because the invader-signaller cells are the ones that HIV loves to use as factories. So the body loses its ability to know it's being attacked.

Net-net: This nanotube approach is great against living invaders (bacteria, and possibly even some types of cancer), but not useful against virii: HIV, or any other.

Sweet Bastard!