Graphene Oxide: A Potential Drug Carrier for Cancer Therapy—Review

Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) is a single or few layer’s sheet derived from graphite using strong oxidizing agents. Graphene oxide possesses outstanding aqueous processability, amphiphilicity, functionalizability, surface enhanced area and fluorescence ability. Hydrophilicity is an important property for mixing the material with ceramic or polymer matrixes while trying to improve their electrical and mechanical properties. Acquiring a promising application in the biomedical area, graphene molecules undergo complex interactions with the biological system, resulting in toxicity of the molecule. However, various approaches to overcome these problems have been established involving graphene modification, leading to the emerging role for graphene oxide, highly-tailored multifunctional targeted delivery vehicles of therapeutic agents to cancer cells or tissues due to its enhanced tissue penetration and cellular uptake both in vitro and in vivo. This review covers graphene oxide properties, functionalization, cytotoxicity and recent potential research studies on GO application in cancer therapy for the past 5 years (2013–2017).

Keywords: Graphene oxide, functionalization, targeted delivery, cancer therapy

Cite this Article Miyanda Petty M, Surya Gautam. Graphene Oxide: A Potential Drug Carrier for Cancer Therapy: Review Article. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Pharmaceutical Science. 2017; 8(3): 21–31p.