Fabrication and characterization of novel cRGD modified graphene quantum dots for chemo-photothermal combination therapy

摘要： In this work, an innovative drug delivery system based on cyclic RGD-modified (as the targeting agent) and doxorubicin-loaded graphene quantum dots (R–GQDs@DOX) was fabricated for chemo-photothermal combination therapy. These tasks include drug loading capacity, photothermal efficiency, cellular uptake and combination therapeutic effect of R–GQDs@DOX. The structure of R–GQDs@DOX was characterized by FT-IR spectrum, UV–vis spectrum and AFM. The results indicated that the doxorubicin (DOX) could be loaded onto graphene quantum dots (GQDs) via van der Waals interaction (π–π stacking) and the drug loading capacity was 96.6 % (wt). The R–GQDs@DOX not only showed obvious pH-responsive release of DOX, but also exhibited great photothermal efficacy for cancer cells. The fluorescence intensity indicated that R–GQDs@DOX was effectively taken up by SK–mel–5 and H460 cells. The combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy could more effectively inhibit growth of tumor cells, compared to photothermal therapy or chemotherapy alone.