Fabrication of Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Based on Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-Chitosan as a Useful Drug Carrier

This research work describes a simple, eco-friendly, and facile method to synthesize a novel graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposite based on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-chitosan (PHB-CS) grafted to poly(methyl methacrylate-block-(poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate-random-2-(dimethyl amino)ethyl methacrylate)) copolymer. The obtained nanocomposite was designated as GO/PHB-CS-gP(MMA-b-(PEGMA-ran-DMAEMA)) and investigated as a drug delivery system. The synthesized products were characterized by FTIR, 1HNMR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Doxorubicin (DOX) as an anticancer drug was loaded on the synthesized GO nanocomposite and the drug encapsulation efficiency was calculated about 76.4%. The release profiles indicated that the resulting GO nanocomposite has a pH-responsive behavior under physiological conditions due to the hydrogen bonding interaction between PHB-CS-g-P(MMA-b-(PEGMA-ran-DMAEMA)) and GO. The release property of DOX from GO nanocomposite exhibited a slow sustained release, and suggested that the GO/PHB-CS-gP(MMA-b-(PEGMA-ran-DMAEMA)) nanocomposite could be an appropriate candidate as a useful nanocarrier for the release of DOX in controlled drug delivery systems for treatment of cancer cells.