Polymer Stabilized Fe₃O₄-Graphene as an Amphiphilic Drug Carrier for Thermo-Chemotherapy of Cancer

In light of the growing interest in the search for cheap and effective solutions for cancer treatment, we report a simple one pot synthesis of polymer stabilized iron oxide-graphene (PIG) that could be realized on a large scale. The structural (Fe3O4 particle size of ∼11 nm), functional (various oxygen containing moieties), and magnetic (moment of ∼43 emu/g) properties of PIG are explored using various characterization techniques for possible biomedical applications. PIG shows good colloidal stability and is biocompatible even at higher concentrations (2.5 mg/mL) by virtue of cross-linking polymers. The biocompatibility of the composite has been tested using HeLa cell lines by computing the percentage of the reactive oxygen species through the 2,7-dichlorofluorescein (DCF) intensity level. PIG has the ability to load and release both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs with a good loading efficiency and capacity. The dug loading efficiency of PIG is measured to be ∼87% and ∼91% for doxorubicin (DOX) and paclitaxel (PTXL), respectively. Under an AC magnetic field, superparamagnetic PIG (2.5 mg/mL) takes less than 16 min to reach the stable hyperthermia temperature, suggesting it as a good anticancer material. A time-dependent cellular uptake of doxorubicin-conjugated PIG has been studied to optimize the parameters for thermo-chemotherapy of cancer. The synergetic effect of both the drug and hyperthermia is observed in the killing of the cancerous cells, verified by computing the cell apoptotic population using a flow cytometer. However, it has been noticed that, even in the absence of chemotherapy, PIG shows good antiproliferative activity with thermotherapy alone.