Folic Acid-functionalized Graphene Oxide Nanocarrier: Synthetic Approaches, Characterization, Drug Delivery Study and Anti-tumor Screening

In this work, we developed and screened the potential anti-tumor activity of a nanocarrier based on graphene oxide (GO) and folic acid (FA) for the delivery of chemotherapy drugs. GO was synthesized by the graphite exfoliation process. FA was linked to PEG (4,7,10-trioxa-1,13-tridecanediamine) to form FA-PEG, followed by coupling to the GO surface. Camptothecin (CPT) was further adsorbed on GO for use as a drug model in the delivery study. The synthesis of the intermediate FA-PEG molecule and coupling to GO for the formation of the GO-FA nanocarrier was confirmed by basic and state-of-the-art characterization techniques, including infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and magic-angle spinning carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (CP/MAS 13C NMR) spectroscopy. FTIR spectroscopy showed a significant reduction in the signal intensity of the carboxylic groups after the functionalization of GO wit...