Synthesis and characterization of Gelatin-functionalized Reduced Graphene Oxide for drug delivery application

Aims :

Using nanomaterials in cancer therapy has shown that this kind of treatment is more efficient with fewer side effects. A considerable number of nanomaterials that can be used in cancer therapy are introduced; among them, graphene attracts most of the scientistchr('39')s attention due to its unique features. In this study, the graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized and reduced by gelatin for cellular delivery of an anticancer drug, curcumin, .

Materials and Methods:

 GO was synthesized by hummer method and reduced by gelatin. Curcumin anticancer drug was loaded on the synthesized nanocarriers via hydrophobe-hydrophobe interaction.

Findings :

Chemical, physical and biological assays have been done to evaluate the synthesis and surface modification. In the next step, the drug loading efficiency was obtained by the UV-Vis  spectroscopy method.

GO is successfully synthesized, with the average size of 300nm. AFM pictures of GO before and after reduction show an increase in thickness that proves the presence of gelatin on the surface. From the cytotoxicity assay on L292 cell line, it can be concluded that surface modification was effective because GO showed remarkable toxicity while gelatin-rGO does not show any toxicity even at a concentration of 200 μgml-1. Also, the drug loading efficiency is obtained at 78%. Therefore, the gelatin-rGO with excellent stability and biocompatibility can be suggested as a drug carrier applicable in biomedical studies.