Graphene oxide/manganese ferrite nanohybrids for magnetic resonance imaging,photothermal therapy and drug delivery

Abstract

Superparamagnetic manganese ferrite (MnFe₂O₄) nanoparticles have been deposited on graphene oxide (GO) by the thermal decomposition of manganese (II) acetylacetonate and iron (III) acetylacetonate precursors in triethylene glycol. The resulting GO/MnFe₂O₄ nanohybrids show very low cytotoxicity, negligible hemolytic activity, and imperceptible in vivo toxicity. In vitro and in vivo magnetic resonance imaging experiments demonstrate that GO/MnFe₂O₄ nanohybrids could be used as an effective T₂ contrast agent. The strong optical absorbance in the near-infrared (NIR) region and good photothermal stability of GO/MnFe₂O₄ nanohybrids result in the highly efficient photothermal ablation of cancer cells. GO/MnFe₂O₄ nanohybrids can be further loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) by π–π conjugate effect for chemotherapy. DOX release from GO/MnFe₂O₄ is significantly influenced by pH and can be triggered by NIR laser. The enhanced cancer cell killing by GO/MnFe₂O₄/DOX composites has been achieved when irradiated with near-infrared light, suggesting that the nanohybrids could deliver both DOX chemotherapy and photothermal therapy with a synergistic effect.

Keywords

Graphene oxide magnetic resonance imaging photothermal therapy chemotherapy

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