Dexamethasone-Loaded, PEGylated, Vertically Aligned, Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes for Potential Ischemic Stroke Intervention

Abstract

The complete synthesis, optimization, purification, functionalization and evaluation of vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (VA-MWCNTs) was reported for potential application in dexamethasone delivery to the ischemic brain tissue. The conditions for high yield were optimized and carbon nanotubes functionalized and PEGylated prior to dexamethasone loading. Morphological changes were confirmed by SEM and TEM. Addition of functional groups to MWCNTs was demonstrated by FTIR. Thermal stability reduced following MWCNTs functionalization as demonstrated in TGA. The presence of carbon at 2θ of 25° and iron at 2θ of 45° in MWCNTs was illustrated by XRD. Polydispersive index and zeta potential were found to be 0.261 and −15.0 mV, respectively. Dexamethasone release increased by 55%, 65% and 95% in pH of 7.4, 6.5 and 5.5 respectively as evaluated by UV-VIS. The functionalized VA-MWCNTs were demonstrated to be less toxic in PC-12 cells in the concentration range from 20 to 20,000 µg/mL. These findings have demonstrated the potential of VA-MWCNTs in the enhancement of fast and prolonged release of dexamethasone which could lead to the effective treatment of ischemic stroke. More work is under way for targeting ischemic sites using atrial natriuretic peptide antibody in stroke rats.

Functionalized, Vertically Super-Aligned Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes for Potential Biomedical Applications

“…of 4-arm PEG-amine (Nanocs Inc., New York, NY, USA) was reacted with DSPE PEG5000-COOH in DCM for two days. The product was evaporated to dryness and reconstituted in deionized water and stirred for an hour at ambient temperature and filtered through a 0.22-m filter [21].…”

“…The product was centrifuged at 5000 rpm for 15 min. Both the supernatant and precipitate were washed with THF using filtration via 0.22-µm filter and centrifugation respectively until the brown color due to SOCl 2 vanished [21].…”

Advances in Drug Delivery Nanosystems Using Graphene-Based Materials and Carbon Nanotubes

“…Dexamethasone-loaded, PEGylated, vertically aligned MWCNTs showing improved fast and prolonged release and releasing 55%, 65% and 95% of drug at pH of 7.4, 6.5 and 5.5, respectively, and lower toxicity in PC-12 cells in a wide concentration range (20–20,000 μg/mL) could be applied in treatment of ischemic stroke [ 282 ]. Enteric-coated carboplatin-loaded PEGylated MWCNTs showing EE of 71.58% did not exhibit a pronouncedly adverse impact on the viability of MDA-MB-231 cells and showed pH-responsive drug activity in a sustained manner, especially at simulated intestinal fluid conditions (pH 6.8).…”

Development of L-carnosine functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles loaded with dexamethasone for simultaneous therapeutic potential of blood brain barrier crossing and ischemic stroke treatment

“…For instance, curcumin loaded in PLGA nanoparticles modified with g7 ligand is efficient in BBB crossing (Barbara et al, 2017). Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid drug possess anti-inflammatory properties have been used as potential candidate for the treatment of inflammatory diseases like stroke (Komane et al, 2018). In this work, Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles/PLGA polymer loaded dexamethasone functionalized with L-carnosine was prepared and investigated for the targeted drug delivery for the treatment of ischemic stroke and the simultaneous blood brain barrier crossing.…”