Biocleavable graphene oxide based-nanohybrids synthesized via ATRP for gene/drug delivery

• Published in: Nanoscale Vol. 6; no. 11; pp. 6141 - 615
• Main Authors: Yang, Xinchao, Zhao, Nana, Xu, Fu-Jian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 07.06.2014
• Subjects: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - chemistry; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - toxicity; Backbone; Camptothecin - analogs & derivatives; Camptothecin - chemistry; Camptothecin - toxicity; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cercopithecus aethiops; COS Cells; Drug Carriers - chemistry; Drug delivery systems; Drugs; Free Radicals - chemistry; Genes; Genetic Vectors - metabolism; Graphene; Graphite - chemistry; Hep G2 Cells; Humans; In vitro testing; Methacrylates - chemistry; Microscopy, Atomic Force; Nanostructure; Nanostructures - chemistry; Oxides; Oxides - chemistry; Polymerization; Transfection
• ISSN: 2040-3364; 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/c4nr00907j

Graphene oxide (GO) has been proven to be promising in many biomedical fields due to its biocompatibility, unique conjugated structure, easily tunable surface functionalization and facile synthesis. In this work, a flexible two-step method was first developed to introduce the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiation sites containing disulfide bonds onto GO surfaces. Surface-initiated ATRP of (2-dimethyl amino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) was then employed to tailor the GO surfaces in a well-controlled manner, producing a series of organic-inorganic hybrids (termed as SS-GPDs) for highly efficient gene delivery. Under reducible conditions, the PDMAEMA side chains can be readily cleavable from the GO backbones, benefiting the resultant gene delivery process. Moreover, due to the conjugated structure of the graphene basal plane, SS-GPD can attach and absorb aromatic, water insoluble drugs, such as 10-hydroxycamptothecin (CPT), producing SS-GPD-CPT. The MTT assay and the simultaneous double-staining procedure revealed that SS-GPD-CPT possessed a high potency of killing cancer cells in vitro . With a high aqueous solubility and coulombic interaction with cell membrane, SS-GPDs may have great potential in gene/drug delivery fields. Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization of DMAEMA was successfully employed to tailor the graphene oxide surfaces in a well-controlled manner and to produce a series of organic-inorganic hybrids for effective biomedical applications.