The ex vivo and in vivo biological performances of graphene oxide and the impact of surfactant on graphene oxide's biocompatibility

Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) displays promising properties for biomedical applications including drug delivery and cancer therapeutics. However, GO exposure also raises safety concerns such as potential side effects on health. Here, the biological effects of GO suspended in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) with or without 1% nonionic surfactant Tween 80 were investigated. Based on the ex vivo experiments, Tween 80 significantly affected the interaction between GO and peripheral blood from mice. GO suspension in PBS tended to provoke the aggregation of diluted blood cells, which could be prevented by the addition of Tween 80. After intravenous administration, GO suspension with or without 1% Tween 80 was quickly eliminated by the mononuclear phagocyte system. Nevertheless, GO suspension without Tween 80 showed greater accumulation in lungs than that containing 1% Tween 80. In contrast, less GO was found in livers for GO suspension compared to Tween 80 assisted GO suspension. Organs including hearts, livers, lungs, spleens, kidneys, brains, and testes did not reveal histological alterations. The indexes of peripheral blood showed no change upon GO exposure. Our results together demonstrated that Tween 80 could greatly alter GO's biological performance and determine the pattern of its biodistribution in mice.

Cytotoxicity of quantum dots and graphene oxide to erythroid cells and macrophages

“…Considerable thrombus formation could be induced by intravenously injected GO, indicating that this method of exposure is not applicable for repeated administration of GO in evaluating its death-inducing effect on blood cells [18,31]. Thus, in the current study, intraperitoneal injection was selected for GO treatment in mice.…”

“…The evaluation of the fluorescence spectrum indicated that the maximum emission wavelength for QDs used here was around 605 nm, indicative of red light. GO was synthesized using the Hummers method with minor revisions as previously described [18]. The size of GO was 300 to 1,000 nm, and the thickness was approximately 1 nm [18].…”

“…GO was synthesized using the Hummers method with minor revisions as previously described [18]. The size of GO was 300 to 1,000 nm, and the thickness was approximately 1 nm [18]. GO suspension was stable for at least 1 month.…”

“…After perfusion with saline, livers were perfused with 0.05% collagenase and then minced and resuspended in 0.05 g/ml collagenase type IV (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) in Hank's balanced salt buffer [18]. The samples were then incubated in the solution without either cadmium or magnesium for enzymatic digestion at 37°C for 30 min.…”

Advanced Functional Nanomaterials for Theranostics

“…[334] In vitro, GO can provoke blood cell aggregation. [335] Mukherjee et al observed that GO and reduced GO induce pro-angiogenic activity [336] . GO and reduced GO could generate intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can influence the phosphorylation of Akt and active the NO signaling, thus finally triggered angiogenesis.…”