Gold Nanorod‐Assembled PEGylated Graphene‐Oxide Nanocomposites for Photothermal Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Gold nanorod-attached PEGylated graphene-oxide (AuNR-PEG-GO) nanocomposites were tested for a photothermal platform both in vitro and in vivo. Cytotoxicity of AuNR was reduced after encapsulation with PEG-GO along with the removal of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) from AuNR by HCl treatment. Cellular internalization of the CTAB-eliminated AuNR-PEG-GO nanocomposites was examined using dark-field microscopy (DFM), confocal Raman microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). To determine the photothermal effect of the AuNR-PEG-GO nanocomposites, A431 epidermoid carcinoma cells were irradiated with Xe-lamp light (60 W cm(-2)) for 5 min after treatment with the AuNR-PEG-GO nanocomposites for 24 h. Cell viability significantly decreased by ~40% when the AuNR-PEG-GO-encapsulated nanocomposites were irradiated with light as compared with the cells treated with only the AuNR-PEG-GO nanocomposites without any illumination. In vivo tumor experiments also indicated that HCl-treated AuNR-PEG-GO nanocomposites might efficiently reduce tumor volumes via photothermal processes. Our graphene and AuNR nanocomposites will be useful for an effective photothermal therapy.

Target-specific near-IR induced drug release and photothermal therapy with accumulated Au/Ag hollow nanoshells on pulmonary cancer cell membranes

“…Near-infrared (NIR) resonant nanomaterials such as Au nanorods (GNRs) [7,12,13], multi-branched particles [14,15], nanoshells [16], and hollow-shells (HSs) [11,17] are attractive therapeutic agents because they can deliver drugs via non-invasive hyperthermia. NIR light in the range of 700e900 nm has been widely used to locally raise cell temperature, thereby optimizing the photothermal effect [18].…”

“…Effective drug delivery by nanocarriers has been intensively investigated using dendrimers [1,2], polymeric micelles [3], liposomes [4,5], carbon-based materials [6e8], magnetic particles [9,10], and noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) [7,11]. Nanocarriers were developed to protect drugs from premature degradation and to enhance drug absorption into specific tissues.…”

Antitumor Therapy Using Nanomaterial-Mediated Thermolysis

“…Joo et al assembled GNRs on PEGylated graphene oxide, which lead to both an increase in colloidal stability and a displacement of cytotoxic CTAB by PEG. 224 In vivo studies with A491 epidermal carcinoma cells showed a 60% cell viability after 5 min of radiation under a Xe-lamp (60 W/cm 2 . A separate approach involving thionin-bridged hybrid materials was considered by Zhu et al 225 AuNPs were covalently bonded to reduced graphene functionalized with thionin.…”

Graphene-Based Nanomaterials for Theranostic Applications

“…Gold nanorod-attached PEGylated graphene-oxide (AuNR-PEG GO) nanocomposites were synthesized by Dembereldorj et al and used for photothermal therapy both in in vitro and in vivo. 82 The presence of AuNRs signi¯cantly enhanced the NIR absorption e±ciency of the nanocomposites which resulted in 40% reduction in cell viability of A431 epidermoid carcinoma cells and also reduced tumor volumes in mice. Femtosecond laser beam mediated photothermal destruction of cancer cells was demonstrated by Li et al using graphene oxide nanoparticles (GONs).…”