Magnetic Graphene Oxide-Fe₃O₄-PANI Nanoparticle Adsorbed Platinum Drugs as Drug Delivery Systems for Cancer Therapy

Graphene-based magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using a simple and effective chemical precipitation method. To determine the biocompatibility of GO-Fe₃O₄-PANI NPs with MTT assay, cytotoxicity testing from a low concentration (1 μg/mL) to a high concentration (125 μg/mL) was conducted using various cancer and normal cell lines. Cytotoxicity testing for cancer cell lines (SMMC-7721, HepG-2, RAW264.7) and normal cell lines (HL-7702) showed almost no toxicity within the 1~125 μg/mL concentration range. Carboplatin (CBP) and oxaliplatin (OXP) were then used as drug models to study the drug release of CBP and OXP loaded on GO-Fe₃O₄-PANI NPs in vitro. Results indicated that the release of CBP and OXP from GO-Fe₃O₄-PANI NPs were affected by pH, dose, and temperature. The release of CBP was more sensitive to pH, and the amounts released in neutral and acidic environments (pH 6.0 and 7.4, respectively) were higher than those released in alkaline environments (pH 8.0). Meanwhile, at different pH levels, the release of OXP was not as large. In addition, at a low temperature (27 °C), the amount released is small when the energy level does not meet that required by C═N. At a considerably higher temperature (47 °C), the energy required for C═N fracture is met, allowing the slow release of the drug over a longer period. The results of our studies suggest that GO-Fe₃O₄-PANI NPs are biocompatible with MTT assay, and as drug delivery systems, these particular NPs can lead to advances in cancer treatment.