Possibility of using fullerene C₂₄₀ as the carrier of steroid hormones

Abstract

Fullerene molecules are created entirely of carbon and form orbicular or ellipsoidal cage shape similar to a hollow tube. The derivatives of fullerenes are classified into the following categories according to their functionalization: endohedral fullerenes with active molecules residing inside the carbon cage, exohedral with wide variety of both inorganic and organic groups existing outside and connected to the fullerenes' exterior and heterofullerenes when one or more carbon atoms that form the fullerene carbon cage are replaced by a non-carbon atom, i.e. a heteroatom. Fullerene C 240 belongs to the family of giant fullerenes and is characterized by a greater stability than that of the well-known fullerene C 60 . This has been proved by observing an increased formation heat that accompanied the decreasing of the carbon cage size.In order to determine the fullerene C 240 ability to transport the steroid hormones: estradiol, progesterone, androsterone and their basic structures: estrone, androstane and pregnane, the following parameters, inter alia, have been calculated: energies of stabilization, interaction and deformation of each endohedral complex. The calculations for all chosen structures were carried out with the use of the molecular modeling technique. Based on all available studies, it can be stated that fullerene C 240 could be a solution for problems faced by medicine and pharmacy.PeerJ Preprints | https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.1869v1 | CC-BY 4.0 Open Access |

Possibility of using fullerene C240 as the carrier of steroid hormones

“…The derivatives of fullerenes are classified into the following categories according to their functionalization:  endohedral fullerenes with active molecules residing inside the carbon cage,  exohedral with wide variety of both inorganic and organic groups existing outside and connected to the fullerenes' exterior,  heterofullerenes when one or more carbon atoms that form the fullerene carbon cage are replaced by a non-carbon atom, i.e., a heteroatom. The attributes of fullerenes, such as the structure, geometry, size and shape of the carbon cage, indicate the possibility of using them as vehicles for transporting the pharmacologically active substance into the target cell [1].…”

Possibility of closing benzene structure inside hetero-derivatives of fullerene C60 as indicator of using them as the carriers of drugs containing benzene ring

“…It results in good stability of the carbon cage. The structure of C 60 is a truncated icosahedron, with two different bond lengths: the ones between two hexagons are shorter (bond c-c length 1.44 Å) then between a hexagon and a pentagon (double-bond c=c length 1.39Å); average bond length is 1.4 Å [1,2,3]. The one of the fullerene derivatives are heterofullerenes when one or more carbon atoms that form the fullerene carbon cage are replaced by a non-carbon atom, i.e., a heteroatom.…”

“…The one of the fullerene derivatives are heterofullerenes when one or more carbon atoms that form the fullerene carbon cage are replaced by a non-carbon atom, i.e., a heteroatom. [2] Exactly 180 σ bonds are located on the surface C 60 , and the whole carbon cage is surrounded by cloud consisting of 60 delocalized π electrons. Their orbitals are arranged along the rays and the energy is similar to the Fermi energy level [3].…”