Exceedingly biocompatible and thin-layered reduced graphene oxide nanosheets and its application in co-delivery of curcumin and paclitaxel shows highly potent synergistic anticancer effects in A549 and MDA-MB-231 cells

Delivery of anti-cancer drugs using graphene and its derivatives: graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) has sparked major interest in this emerging field. The anti-cancer therapies often pose a limitation of insolubility, administration problems and cell-penetration ability. In addition, systemic toxicity caused by lack of selective targeting towards cancer cells and inefficient distribution limits its clinical applications. Graphene nanocomposite is a promising tool to address these drawbacks. Graphene is a flat monolayer of carbon atoms that holds many promising properties such as unparalleled thermal conductivity, remarkable electronic properties, and most intriguingly high planar surface and superlative mechanical strength, which are attractive in biotechnology applications. However the synthesis route for the production of GO or RGO often involves the use of harsh chemicals which jeopardize its further application as a drug delivery cargo. To overcome these limitations, a simple one-pot strategy was used to synthesize RGO nanosheets by utilizing an easily available over-the-counter medicinal and edible mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum. The produced RGO was readily dispersible in water and various solvents. The RGO was highly biocompatible towards colon (HT-29), brain (U87MG) and normal cells (MRC-5). By functionalization of RGO with an amphiphilic polymer, PF-127, a more stable RGO was produced, called GP. Curcumin (Cur) and Paclitaxel (Ptx) was then loaded onto the GP cargo, resulting in a nano-sized GP-Cur-Ptx sytem with the particle size of 140 nm. A remarkably high drug loading was also achieved with 678 wt.%, highest thus far, compared to any other Cur nanoformulations. Based on cell proliferation assay, the GP-Cur-Ptx is a synergistic treatment and is highly potent towards A549 (lung) and MDA-MB-231 (breast) cancer cells. These positive findings are further confirmed by increased reactive oxygen species (ROS); mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) depletion; and cell apoptosis. The same treated with normal cells (MRC-5) shows that the system is biocompatible and cell-specific

Exceedingly biocompatible and thin-layered reduced graphene oxide nanosheets and its application in co-delivery of curcumin and paclitaxel shows highly potent synergistic anticancer effects in A549 and MDA-MB-231 cells

Delivery of anti-cancer drugs using graphene and its derivatives: graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) has sparked major interest in this emerging field. The anti-cancer therapies often pose a limitation of insolubility, administration problems and cell-penetration ability. In addition, systemic toxicity caused by lack of selective targeting towards cancer cells and inefficient distribution limits its clinical applications. Graphene nanocomposite is a promising tool to address these drawbacks. Graphene is a flat monolayer of carbon atoms that holds many promising properties such as unparalleled thermal conductivity, remarkable electronic properties, and most intriguingly high planar surface and superlative mechanical strength, which are attractive in biotechnology applications. However the synthesis route for the production of GO or RGO often involves the use of harsh chemicals which jeopardize its further application as a drug delivery cargo. To overcome these limitations, a simple one-pot strategy was used to synthesize RGO nanosheets by utilizing an easily available over-the-counter medicinal and edible mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum. The produced RGO was readily dispersible in water and various solvents. The RGO was highly biocompatible towards colon (HT-29), brain (U87MG) and normal cells (MRC-5). By functionalization of RGO with an amphiphilic polymer, PF-127, a more stable RGO was produced, called GP. Curcumin (Cur) and Paclitaxel (Ptx) was then loaded onto the GP cargo, resulting in a nano-sized GP-Cur-Ptx sytem with the particle size of 140 nm. A remarkably high drug loading was also achieved with 678 wt.%, highest thus far, compared to any other Cur nanoformulations. Based on cell proliferation assay, the GP-Cur-Ptx is a synergistic treatment and is highly potent towards A549 (lung) and MDA-MB-231 (breast) cancer cells. These positive findings are further confirmed by increased reactive oxygen species (ROS); mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) depletion; and cell apoptosis. The same treated with normal cells (MRC-5) shows that the system is biocompatible and cell-specific

Nanomaterials for nanotheranostics : tuning their properties according to disease needs

Altres ajuts: this work was funded by the CERCA Program/Generalitat de Catalunya.Nanotheranostics is one of the biggest scientific breakthroughs in nanomedicine. Most of the currently available diagnosis and therapies are invasive, time-consuming, and associated with severe toxic side effects. Nanotheranostics, on the other hand, has the potential to bridge this gap by harnessing the capabilities of nanotechnology and nanomaterials for combined therapeutics and diagnostics with markedly enhanced efficacy. However, nanomaterial applications in nanotheranostics are still in its infancy. This is due to the fact that each disease has a particular microenvironment with well-defined characteristics, which promotes deeper selection criteria of nanomaterials to meet the disease needs. In this review, we have outlined how nanomaterials are designed and tailored for nanotheranostics of cancer and other diseases such as neurodegenerative, autoimmune (particularly on rheumatoid arthritis), and cardiovascular diseases. The penetrability and retention of a nanomaterial in the biological system, the therapeutic strategy used, and the imaging mode selected are some of the aspects discussed for each disease. The specific properties of the nanomaterials in terms of feasibility, physicochemical challenges, progress in clinical trials, its toxicity, and their future application on translational medicine are addressed. Our review meticulously and critically examines the applications of nanotheranostics with various nanomaterials, including graphene, across several diseases, offering a broader perspective of this emerging field

Modification of polypropylene filter with metal oxide and reduced graphene oxide for water treatment

A hydrothermal method for the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide/titanium dioxide filter (RGO/TiO2) and reduced graphene oxide/zinc oxide filter (RGO/ZnO) by using polypropylene (PP) porous filter is reported. Field emission scanning electron microscopy illustrated that the nanoparticles were uniformly distributed on the reduced graphene oxide nanosheets. Flexural tests showed that the physical properties of the modified filters have greater strength than the original filter. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the thermal property of the modified filters is the same as that of the original filter. Under a halogen lamp, the modified filter exhibited excellent photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. The RGO/TiO2 filter maintained its ability to degrade MB efficiently, even after five cycles of photocatalysis

In-situ surface functionalization of superparamagnetic reduced graphene oxide – Fe3O4 nanocomposite via Ganoderma lucidum extract for targeted cancer therapy application

A superparamagnetic graphene-based magnetite nanocomposite (rGO-Fe3O4) was synthesized via a simple in-situ chemical approach. This rGO-Fe3O4 nanocomposite can be used as a drug carrier that is able to be guided by external magnetic fields to the specific site of interest for targeted drug delivery application to treat cancer. Ganoderma lucidum extract (GL) was employed, which successfully stabilized the rGO-Fe3O4 via hydrogen bonding and resulted in enhancement of water dispersibility and stability of the prepared nanocomposite, while Pluronic F-127 (PF) was introduced to reduce the overall cytotoxicity. The presence of both GL and PF on the surface of nanocomposite was successfully validated by cyclic voltammetry (CV). Quercetin (Que), a naturally-available polyphenolic flavonoid with anti-cancer properties was utilized to study the potential of rGO-Fe3O4-GL-PF for controlled drug delivery application. The loading capacity of Que on rGO-Fe3O4-GL-PF was determined to be 11 wt% through UV–visible spectroscopy. The Que was loaded on rGO plane via π-π stacking and hydrophobic interaction, which was validated through CV. Furthermore, the in-vitro cytotoxicity of the synthesized nanocomposite showed obvious cytotoxicity toward A549 cells due to the anti-cancer properties of GL which has high potential to be developed into a targeted drug delivery carrier for cancer therapeutics

Towards scale‐up of graphene production via nonoxidizing liquid exfoliation methods

Graphene, the two‐dimensional form of carbon, has received a great deal of attention across academia and industry due to its extraordinary electrical, mechanical, thermal, chemical, and optical properties. In view of the potential impact of graphene on numerous and diverse applications in electronics, novel materials, energy, transport, and healthcare, large‐scale graphene production is a challenge that must be addressed. In the past decade, top–down production has demonstrated high potential for scale‐up. This review features the recent progress made in top–down production methods that have been proposed for the manufacturing of graphene‐based products. Fabrication methods such as liquid‐phase mechanical, chemical and electrochemical exfoliation of graphite are outlined, with a particular focus on nonoxidizing routes for graphene production. Analysis of exfoliation mechanisms, solvent considerations, key advantages and issues, and important production characteristics including production rate and yield, where applicable, are outlined. Future challenges and opportunities in graphene production are also highlighted

Synthesis of graphene oxide and graphene quantum dots from miscanthus via ultrasound-assisted mechano-chemical cracking method

Whilst graphene materials have become increasingly popular in recent years, the followed synthesis strategies face sustainability, environmental and quality challenges. This study proposes an effective, sustainable and scalable ultrasound-assisted mechano-chemical cracking method to produce graphene oxide (GO). A typical energy crop, miscanthus, was used as a carbon precursor and pyrolysed at 1200 ◦C before subjecting to edgecarboxylation via ball-milling in a CO2-induced environment. The resultant functionalised biochar was ultrasonically exfoliated in N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and water to form GOs. The intermediate and endproducts were characterised via X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses. Results show that the proposed synthesis route can produce good quality and uniform GOs (8–10% monolayer), with up to 96% of GOs having three layers or lesser when NMP is used. Ultrasonication proved to be effective in propagating the self-repulsion of negativelycharged functional groups. Moreover, small amounts of graphene quantum dots were observed, illustrating the potential of producing various graphene materials via a single-step method. Whilst this study has only investigated utilising miscanthus, the current findings are promising and could expand the potential of producing good quality graphene materials from renewable sources via green synthesis routes