One-step preparation of hydrophilic carbon nanofiber containing magnetic Ni nanoparticles materials and their application in drug delivery

Abstract A one-step process for the synthesis of hydrophilic carbon nanofibers (CNFs) through CO 2 hydrogenation on Ni Na/Al 2 O 3 was developed for the loading and targeted delivery of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). CNFs that were synthesized on Ni Na/Al 2 O 3 for 9 h at 500 °C exhibited an adequate magnetic response and a large content of hydrophilic oxygen-containing functional groups on the carbon surface, resulting in excellent colloidal solution. The CNF material exhibited a highly efficient capacity for DOX adsorption, particularly at pH 9.0. The loading and release of DOX was strongly pH dependent, possibly due to electrostatic and π–π stacking interactions between DOX and CNF sample. The Langmuir isotherm and pseudo second-order kinetics of DOX-loaded CNFs were well-modeled for the process of DOX adsorption. DOX-loaded CNF targeted cancer cells more selectively and effectively than free DOX and exhibited a marked tendency to kill HeLa cancer cells and reduced toxicity to normal human primary fibroblast (HPF) cells.