Design and development of multi-walled carbon nanotube-liposome drug delivery platforms

Abstract

The aim of this study is to design and develop delivery platforms made of liposomes and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). We used different lipids with different main transition temperature (Tm) and differently functionalized MWCNTs with organic addends possessing either positive or negative charge. The phospholipids used for the formulations were 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) (Tm=41°C) and L-α-phosphatidylcholine, hydrogenated Soy (HSPC) (Tm=53°C). By Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), we studied the interaction between the DPPC and HSPC bilayers and MWCNTs. Liposome-MWCNTs delivery platforms prepared according to the protocol used in the literature. We used dynamic and electrophoretic light scattering in order to investigate the physicochemical characteristics of these mixed nanocarriers. The presence of MWCNTs causes alterations of the size of the conventional HSPC and DPPC liposomes. The ζ-potential values of mixed nanocarriers are near zero. This observation indicates the effective incorporation of MWCNTs into the lipid bilayer of liposomes. Fluorescence spectroscopy has been utilized to exact some qualitative information on the internal nanostructure and nanoenvironment of the lipid/carbon nanotube mixed structures. Finally, we conclude that we successfully prepare and completely characterize mixed nanocarriers composed of lipids and MWCNTs, with low toxicity as indicated by in vitro screening.

Multi‑walled carbon nanotube‑based systems for improving the controlled release of insoluble drug dipyridamole

“…Studies have shown that MWCNT is a suitable carrier for poorly soluble drugs (24,38). On the one hand, the current study developed the application range of MWCNTs in the field of pharmacy, on the other hand, it attempted to develop a new platform for the delivery of poorly soluble drugs.…”

“…Although MWCNTs have been recently used for loading other drugs, they have not been studied as drug delivery systems for DDM (21–23). Multiple studies have proposed carriers, including MWCNTs, with delineation of pore volume, surface area and surface modification (24–26). Among the many factors that play a role in the process of drug delivery, drug-loading efficiency is particularly critical for MWCNTs.…”

PEG/PEI-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes as delivery carriers for doxorubicin: synthesis, characterization, and in vitro evaluation

“…Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted great interest for biomedical applications, including the delivery of bioactive molecules such as drugs, the targeted cancer therapy, and biological imaging, because of their unique properties, including large surface area, relatively low density, high stability and other inherent mechanical, optical and electrical properties [7][8][9]. CNTs can be produced as single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) or multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) [10]. SWCNTs can be easily synthesized and efficaciously traverse biological barriers [11][12][13].…”

π‐Plasmon absorbance films of carboxylic functionalized CNTs coupled with renewable PGP platforms

“…[12][13][14] Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are carbon allotropes with different length and diameter cylindrical nanostructure with amazing mechanical, electrical, thermal, and adsorption properties. [15][16][17][18] Versatile outstanding applications of CNTs were used in many industrial sectors and on industrial scale such as lithium ion battery, 19 drug delivery system, 20 biomedical applications, 21 and manufactured implants. 22 In particular, CNTs have many applications in electronics like implantable supercapacitors, 5 field effect transistors, 23 and photovoltaics.…”