Graphene Oxide as a Multifunctional Platform for Intracellular Delivery, Imaging, and Cancer Sensing.

ABSTRACT: Graphene oxide (GO), the most common derivative of graphene, is an exceptional nanomaterial that possesses multiple physical properties critical for biomedical applications. GO exhibits pH-dependent fluorescence emission in the visible/near-infrared, providing a possibility of molecular imaging and pH-sensing. It is also water soluble and has a substantial platform for functionalization, allowing for the delivery of multiple therapeutics. GO physical properties are modified to enhance cellular internalization, producing fluorescent nanoflakes with low (<15%) cytotoxicity at the imaging concentrations of 15??g/mL. As a result, at lower flake sizes GO rapidly internalizes into HeLa cells with the following 70% fluorescence based clearance at 24?h, assessed by its characteristic emission in red/near-IR. pH-dependence of GO emission is utilized to provide the sensing of acidic extracellular environments of cancer cells. The results demonstrate diminishing green/red (550/630?nm) fluorescence intensity ratios for HeLa and MCF-7 cancer cells in comparison to HEK-293 healthy cells suggesting a potential use of GO as a non-invasive optical sensor for cancer microenvironments. The results of this work demonstrate the potential of GO as a novel multifunctional platform for therapeutic delivery, biological imaging and cancer sensing.

SUBMITTER: Campbell E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6344482 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature