Poly(glycidyl methacrylate)-coated magnetic graphene oxide as a highly efficient nanocarrier: preparation, characterization, and targeted DOX delivery

摘要

Herein, we report the preparation of novel magnetic graphene oxide (GO) grafted with brush polymer via surface-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (SI-RAFT) polymerization and its application as a nanocarrier for magnetic- and pH-triggered delivery of doxorubicin anticancer drug. The RAFT agent, DDMAT, was firstly attached to the surface of magnetic GO nanosheets. The DDMAT-functionalized magnetic GO nanosheets were then used to polymerize glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) using an SI-RAFT method. Afterwards, the epoxy rings of the PGMA chains were opened with hydrazine (N2H4) moieties. The resulting nanocomposite was used as a drug carrier for doxorubicin (DOX) as an anticancer drug. DOX molecules were covalently loaded onto the nanocarriers via imine coupling and pi-pi stacking. The in vitro drug release study of the prepared nanocarriers revealed that DOX can be released under an acidic medium indicating a pH-sensitive behavior. Also, the MTT cytotoxicity assay of the nanocarriers showed excellent biocompatibility. It can be envisioned that the synthesized magnetic nanocarriers could be regarded as a promising type of anticancer drug delivery system (DDS).