Crumpled Graphene Oxide Loaded with Anticancer Agents Synthesized by a Single-Step Aerosol Method for Drug Delivery

New methodologies for the treatment of cancer continue to be developed, with an emphasis on improved specificity and targeted delivery to tumor cells. An innovative crumpled graphene oxide (CGO)-based drug delivery system (DDS) was fabricated via a single-step aerosol methodology to achieve reduced material toxicity and to enhance the drug-loading capacity for an anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). Specifically, the CGO-based systems feature reduced particle sizes and preserved surface modifiability compared with the current graphene oxide (GO)-based systems. In addition, the CGO-based drug delivery system can be loaded with the drug DOX by either surface attachment or one-step aerosol-based encapsulation. The particle size, drug-loading capacity, drug release profile, and <i>in vivo</i> toxicity of the synthesized DDS nanoparticles were evaluated in this study. The synthesis for the CGO DDS was a one-step aerosolized approach in a furnace aerosol reactor (FuAR). The synthesized structures were loaded with the drug to form composites, with DOX either loaded on the surface or encapsulated inside the structure. The one-step aerosol synthesis process produced CGO particles with a significantly smaller particle size (350.55 ± 91.43 nm) than GO (635.32 ± 80.41 nm), with a similar loading capacity for DOX (0.52 ± 0.01 mg/mg) compared to sheet GO (0.57 ± 0.07 mg/mg). At a pH of 7.4, the CGO loaded with DOX composite exhibited a similar asymptotic percentage of release (11.23%) over a 24 h period compared to the GO composite (13.12%). <i>In vivo</i> toxicity studies on mice indicated that CGO demonstrated less toxicity (60 mg/kg) in mice than sheet GO (7.5 mg/kg) in the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). Thus, the crumpled graphene oxide particles, along with those pretreated polyethylene glycol (PEG) surface modifications, can offer solutions for developing a suitable drug delivery system for cancer treatment.