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.