Development of Graphene Oxide Nanosheets as Potential Biomaterials in Cancer Therapeutics: An In-Vitro Study Against Breast Cancer Cell Line

Abstract: Recent advances in nanotechnology and nano biomaterials have attracted considerable attention in the field of cancer therapy. The development of biocompatible nanotherapeutics that selectively target cancer cells is a prime area of interest in current research. In the present study, graphene oxide nanosheets were synthesized using a modified Hummer’s method and characterized by using FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray Diffraction analyses, FE-SEM, HR-TEM and AFM. FT-IR spectra revealed the presence of the characteristic wave-numbers of 1585 cm−1, 2841 cm−1, and 3443 cm−1 uncovering the presence of intrinsic functional groups predominantly C=C, C-O, and C=O bonds. The characteristic intrinsic defect proportions in the as-prepared GO sheets exhibited a portion of the ID/IG ratio of ~ 1.05, indicating thereby a lesser proportion of available defect quantity in our synthesized graphene oxide sheets. XRD studies uncovered an interesting characteristic value of (001) and (002) lattice planes at a diffraction angle of 30º, which indicated a crystalline nature of the as-prepared graphene sheets. Thermo Gravimetric analyses of the as-prepared sheets indicated that in the range of 300–900 ℃, the sheet exhibited a tremendous rate of thermal response at different applied temperatures, uncovering the underlying physico-chemical attributes of the sheets. It is observed from the DLS experimentation that GO sheets exhibited a zeta potential ζ-potential of − 9.3 mV, which is expected to be a most stable colloidal form. The lateral thickness of the graphene nanosheets was approximately 6.45 nm, which was corroborated by the TEM and AFM analyses, respectively. The potential biomedical application of graphene nanosheets was evaluated by assessing the cytotoxicity and antioxidant activity. The IC50 of H2O2 scavenging activity by GO sheets was determined to be 61.91 ± 1.14 µg/ml. The DPPH and H2O2 scavenging activity of the GO sheets increases with the increase with the dosage concentrations from 25 to 400 µg/ml, respectively. The in-vitro tests revealed that the GO sheets had a high level of cytotoxicity to the human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells that was concentration dependent. In contrast, the cytotoxicity of the GO sheets against the HaCaT normal cell line was marginal, suggesting that the graphene nanosheets could be safely used in cancer therapy. Graphic Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]