Adsorption behavior of epirubicin hydrochloride on carboxylated carbon nanotubes

The aim of this study was to understand the interaction between carboxylated carbon nanotubes (c-CNTs) and anticancer agents and evaluate the drug-loading ability of c-CNTs. We prepared carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (c-MWNTs) with nitric acid treatment, then evaluated the adsorption ability of c-MWNTs as adsorbents for loading of the anticancer drug, epirubicin hydrochloride (EPI), and investigated the adsorption behavior of EPI on c-MWNTs. Unmodified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were included as comparative adsorbents. The results showed that carbon nanotubes were able to form supramolecular complexes with EPI via π-π stacking and possessed favorable loading properties as drug carriers. The Freundilich adsorption model was successfully employed to describe the adsorption process. Because of the high surface area and hydrogen bonding, c-MWNTs' adsorption efficiency was the highest and the most stable and their drug-loading capacity was superior to that of MWNTs. With the increase of pH, the adsorption capacity of EPI on the c-MWNTs increased. Low-temperature facilitated the adsorption. More rapid EPI adsorption rate and higher drug-loading ability were observed from c-MWNTs with smaller diameter. Moreover, the adsorption kinetics of EPI on c-MWNTs could be well depicted by using the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.