Switching off the interactions between graphene oxide and doxorubicin using vitamin C: combining simplicity and efficiency in drug delivery

Well-controlled, low-toxicity and highly efficient delivery systems for anticancer drugs are a key challenge for the development of a new class of nanocarrier systems for cancer chemotherapy. Graphene oxide (GO) has been developed to be a nanocarrier of anti-cancer drugs due to its large surface area and biocompatibility; however, understanding of the interface chemistry is very limited. In this work, we report efficient loading and controlled release of doxorubicin (DOX) using the tunable surface of GO. A deep understanding of the surface chemistry between GO and DOX is achieved using spectroscopies and atomic force microscopy. Hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking are confirmed to be the non-covalent interactions between the drugs and the carriers. As a result, improvement of DOX delivery from the GO surface can be achieved using vitamin C.