Graphene: a versatile nanoplatform for biomedical applications

Abstract

Graphene, with its excellent physical, chemical, and mechanical properties, holds tremendous potential for a wide variety of biomedical applications. As research on graphene-based nanomaterials is still at a nascent stage, due to the very short time span since its initial report in 2004, a focused review on this topic is timely and necessary. In this feature review, we first summarize the results from toxicity studies of graphene and its derivatives. Although literature reports have mixed findings, we emphasize that the key question is not how toxic graphene itself is, but how to modify and functionalize it and its derivatives so that they do not exhibit acute/chronic toxicity, can be cleared from the body over time, and thereby can be best used for biomedical applications. Next, we discuss in detail the exploration of graphene-based nanomaterials for tissue engineering, molecular imaging, and drug/gene delivery applications. The future of graphene-based nanomaterials in biomedicine looks brighter than ever, and it is expected that they will find a wide range of biomedical applications with future research effort and interdisciplinary collaboration.

What makes a good graphene-binding peptide? Adsorption of amino acids and peptides at aqueous graphene interfaces

“…7,8 A number of these applications capitalise on the selective interaction of biomolecules with graphitic interfaces, in aqueous conditions. To better exploit these bio-nanotechology applications it is necessary to gain greater understanding of the the structure/property relationships of biomolecules at graphitic inter- † Electronic Supplementary Information (ESI) available: Details of the REST simulations; the side-chain contact sites; cluster populations of peptides both in solution and adsorbed to the graphene interface; analysis of aromaticaromatic residue interactions of P1 in solution; analysis of the intra-peptide hydrogen bonding of P1 and P1A3 in solution; free energy of adsorption profiles of amino acids to graphene interface; enthalpies of adsorption of amino acids to graphene interface from previous studies; exemplar replica mobilities; number of clusters identified as a function of MD steps from the REST simulations; composition of the secondary structure of the peptides via analysis of their backbone dihedral angles; probability distribution of distances of residues from graphene interface during the REST simulations.…”

Radio-graphene in Theranostic Perspectives

“…Since two eminent scientists, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, were given the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for 2-dimensional sheet-like material graphene, the research in this field has exponentially expanded its territory beyond electronics and chemistry with developing an ultrafast conductor toward biological and biomedical field [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Known for its remarkable structural and physicochemical properties, graphene has attracted a substantial amount of interest in numerous fields in science including/especially in nanoscience/ medicine/technology.…”

“…These properties of graphene have provided a stepping-stone for the development of nanocarriers for drug and gene delivery, biosensors, cell imaging, and phototherapy of cancer [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Doxorubicin loaded onto PEG-NGO conjugate is a primary example that utilizes the delocalized surface π-electrons in graphene to enhance the solubility of poorly soluble drugs [6]. The cationic polyethylenimine (PEI) polymer that has a strong electrostatic interaction with the negatively charged phosphate of RNA or DNA can be easily decorated onto the surface of graphene in gene therapy, which enables it to treat genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis, Parkinson's disease, and cancer whilst significantly lowering the cytotoxicity of PEI [6].…”

“…Doxorubicin loaded onto PEG-NGO conjugate is a primary example that utilizes the delocalized surface π-electrons in graphene to enhance the solubility of poorly soluble drugs [6]. The cationic polyethylenimine (PEI) polymer that has a strong electrostatic interaction with the negatively charged phosphate of RNA or DNA can be easily decorated onto the surface of graphene in gene therapy, which enables it to treat genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis, Parkinson's disease, and cancer whilst significantly lowering the cytotoxicity of PEI [6]. Furthermore, the ability to adsorb single-stranded DNA onto graphene sheets, the capacity to quench electron donors, and the function of transportation in living cells and in vivo systems has made graphene even more promising [21].…”

Nano-graphene oxide composite for in vivo imaging

“…Functionalized graphene oxide (GO; 2-D)-based nanocomposites have attracted attention in biomedical applications in recent years, because of their unique and highly enriched physical and chemical properties, [19][20][21][22][23][24][25] such as excellent biocompatibility, ready cellular uptake, flexible chemical modifications, unique optical properties, and thermal and electrical conductivity. In recent years, graphenebased nanomaterials have also attracted significant interest in biological fields, such as biomedicine, biosensors, drug delivery and bioimaging.…”