Synergistic effects of graphene quantum dots nanocarriers and folic acid targeting agent on enhanced killing of breast cancer cells by tamoxifen

Abstract

In this study, a new targeted and controlled‐release drug delivery system based on graphene quantum dots (GQDs) was fabricated. The fluorescent GQDs were synthesized via an environmentally‐friendly chemical oxidation method, using graphene oxide (GO) as a precursor and hydrogen peroxide and ammonia solution as oxidants. Folic acid (FA), as a targeting agent, was bound to GQDs through strong amide covalent bindings, and tamoxifen (TMX), as a hydrophobic anticancer drug, was non‐covalently attached to the nanocarrier via π–π stacking bonds. The as‐prepared GQDs and TMX/FA‐GQDs were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV/Vis spectroscopy (UV/Vis), and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The resulting TMX/GQDs demonstrated pH‐sensitive release behaviour with an overall release of 85% and 58% at pH 5.5 and 7.4, respectively, after 120 h. Also, the MTT assay test performed on MCF‐7 cells presented negligible toxicity of the nanocarriers, even at high concentrations. At the same time, the targeted nanocarrier, TMX/FA‐GQDs, showed much more toxicity towards MCF‐7 cells than the non‐targeted one and free TMX.

Quantum Dot Research in Breast Cancer: Challenges and Prospects

“…These QDs aim to enhance the effectiveness of the drug tamoxifen by delivering it directly to cancer cells using the folic acid as a targeting agent. The pH-sensitive release mechanism of these QDs is particularly notable, as it ensures that the drug is released more significantly in the acidic environment of cancerous tissues compared to normal tissues, thus maximizing the therapeutic effects while minimizing side effects [89].…”

“…Quantum Dot Synthesis and Characterization: This involves assessing optical, photophysical, and surface properties to optimize the QDs for specific applications [5,34,39,66,67,83,88,[90][91][92]112,119]. Advanced characterization techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM), Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), photoluminescence (PL), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Field Emission Scanning Electron microscopy (FESEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), are crucial for uncovering detailed structural and functional insights [5,14,15,30,34,35,79,[88][89][90]112].…”