PEGylated graphene oxide as a nanocarrier for podophyllotoxin

• Published in: Journal of nanoparticle research : an interdisciplinary forum for nanoscale science and technology Vol. 16; no. 8; pp. 1 - 11
• Main Authors: Zhu, Shaojia, Zhen, Hong, Li, Yongjun, Wang, Ping, Huang, Xiaoyu, Shi, Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.08.2014; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biocompatibility; Biotechnology; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Cytotoxicity; Drug delivery systems; Electron, ion, and scanning probe microscopy; Exact sciences and technology; Fullerenes and related materials; diamonds, graphite; Graphene; Human; Infrared spectroscopy; Inorganic Chemistry; Lasers; Light scattering; Materials Science; Nanocrystalline materials; Nanoparticles; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Nanoscale materials: clusters, nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanocrystals; Nanostructure; Nanotechnology; Optical Devices; Optics; Oxides; Photonics; Physical Chemistry; Physics; Research Paper; Scanning probe microscopy: scanning tunneling, atomic force, scanning optical, magnetic force, etc; Specific materials; Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography; Toxicity; Ultraviolet spectroscopy; Cytotoxicity; Graphene oxide; Drug delivery; Podophyllotoxin; Nanomaterial; Drugs; Atomic force microscopy; Fourier transform spectroscopy; Toxicity; Drug carrier; Polyethylene glycols; Ethylene oxide polymer; Nanoparticles; Biocompatibility; Medical application; Crystal structure; Stacking sequence; Light scattering; Thermogravimetry; Aromatics; Interfaces; Graphene; Ultraviolet visible spectrum; Nanostructured materials; Nanotechnology
• ISSN: 1388-0764; 1572-896X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11051-014-2530-z

Graphene, a two-dimensional nanomaterial, has become a hot spot of research at the interface of nanotechnology and biomedicine. In this study, the oxidized form of graphene, graphene oxide (GO), was functionalized with 6-armed polyethylene glycol (PEG), which rendered it stable and biocompatible in physiological solution. The successful synthesis of PEGylated graphene oxide (GO-PEG) nanocarrier with low toxicity was confirmed by UV–Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. By dynamic light scattering (DLS), the size distribution of the nanoparticles were shown to be 60–200 nm. Furthermore, a complex by loading an aromatic anticancer compound, podophyllotoxin (PPT), onto GO-PEG (GO-PEG/PPT) via π – π stacking and hydrophobic interactions was investigated. It was demonstrated that GO-PEG/PPT showed remarkably high cytotoxicity compared to free PPT in both the human cervical adenocarcinoma HeLa cell line and human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cell line. The loading and delivery of anticancer drugs using this kind of graphene-based nanocarrier may find potential application in biomedicine.