Designing magnetic graphene oxide-polymer nanocomposites for pH-responsive passive targeting of hydrophobic anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil for breast cancer therapy.

In this study, we synthesized magnetic graphene oxide nanoparticles functionalized with polyvinyl alcohol (GO-PVA-Fe3O4) for effective delivery of anticancer drug and its cytotoxic potential against human breast cancer cells MDAMB. Initially, GO was synthesized using a modified Hummer's method. Subsequently, the GO was functionalized with the biocompatible polymer PVA to enhance its aqueous stability and surface reactivity. Magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) were then grafted onto the PVA-functionalized GO via a chemical co-precipitation method, resulting in the formation of a stable magnetic nanocomposite. The anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5FU) was loaded onto the surface of the nanocarrier by non-covalent interaction. The developed nanocomposite (GO-PVA-Fe3O4-5FU) showed high drug loading capacity of 14.17 % mg mg-1 along with pH-responsive drug release of anticancer drug 5FU. 5-FU has demonstrated around 30.40 % drug release which is about 2.5 times higher than the drug release at pH 7.4 that demonstrated improved and passive targeted drug release at cancer microenvironment. Cellular cytotoxicity of the developed nanocarrier with the drug showed biocompatibility and higher cytotoxicity against MDAMB with an IC50 value of 23.65 ± 3.72 µg/mL as compared to the nanocarrier without drug loading. Therefore, the obtained results demonstrate potential of the synthesized nanocarriers as effective platforms for drug delivery. Overall, the GO-based magnetic nanocomposites exhibited promising characteristics for passive targeted drug delivery applications, offering improved biocompatibility, pH-responsive controlled release, and suitability for prospective cancer therapeutics.