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In vitro and in vivo brain-targeting chemo-photothermal therapy using graphene oxide conjugated with transferrin for Gliomas

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Abstract

Current therapies for treating malignant glioma exhibit low therapeutic efficiency because of strong systemic side effects and poor transport across the blood brain barrier (BBB). Herein, we combined targeted chemo-photothermal glioma therapy with a novel multifunctional drug delivery system to overcome these issues. Drug carrier transferrin-conjugated PEGylated nanoscale graphene oxide (TPG) was successfully synthesized and characterized. When loaded on the proposed TPG-based drug delivery (TPGD) system, the anticancer drug doxorubicin could pass through the BBB and improve drug accumulation both in vitro and in vivo. TPGD was found to perform dual functions in chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. Targeted TPGD combination therapy showed higher rates of glioma cell death and prolonged survival of glioma-bearing rats compared with single doxorubicin or PGD therapy. In conclusion, we developed a potential nanoscale drug delivery system for combined therapy of glioma that can effectively decrease side effects and improve therapeutic effects.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61335011, 61275187, 21505047, and 31300691), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China (2014A030311024 and 2014A030310306), Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (20114407110001 and 20134407120003), the Science and Technology Project of Guangdong Province of China (2012A080203008), and the Science and Technology Innovation Project of the Education Department of Guangdong Province of China (2013KJCX0052).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SATCM Third Grade Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Photonics Technology, College of Biophotonics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China

    Haixin Dong, Mei Jin, Zhiming Liu, Honglian Xiong, Xuejun Qiu, Wen Zhang & Zhouyi Guo

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  1. Haixin Dong
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  2. Mei Jin
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  3. Zhiming Liu
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  4. Honglian Xiong
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  5. Xuejun Qiu
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  6. Wen Zhang
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  7. Zhouyi Guo
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Correspondence to Zhouyi Guo.

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All animal procedures were performed according to the guidelines of South China Normal University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

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Dong, H., Jin, M., Liu, Z. et al. In vitro and in vivo brain-targeting chemo-photothermal therapy using graphene oxide conjugated with transferrin for Gliomas. Lasers Med Sci 31, 1123–1131 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-016-1955-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-016-1955-2

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