Abstract
The biocompatibility of carbon nanotubes (CNT) is fairly a challenging task for their applications in nanomedicine. Therefore, the objective of this research was to formulate four types of highly biocompatible betulinic acid-loaded biopolymer nanocomposites, namely chitosan-multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWBA-CS), polyethylene glycol-multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWBA-PG), Tween 20-multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWBA-T2) and Tween 80-multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWBA-T8). The physico-chemical properties of the modified nanocomposites were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal analysis (TGA) and Raman spectroscopy, while the surface morphology of the resulting nanocomposites was studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). All data revealed that the external surface of MWBA nanocomposites was successfully coated with the respective polymer molecules through hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions with improved thermal profiles. The cell viability assay, which was performed on cultured normal embryonic mouse fibroblast cells, confirmed their excellent biocompatibility in phosphate-buffered saline aqueous media. Overall, our findings herein suggest that the synthesized biopolymer-coated MWBA nanocomposites are promising nanomaterials for drug delivery applications as they enhance the solubility and dispersibility of CNT with significantly reduced cytotoxic effect, especially in normal cells.
Highlights
The concept of nanoscience was first introduced by a Nobel Laureate Caltech physicist, Richard Feynman, in his after-dinner speech entitled “There’s plenty of room at the bottom”, which was later published in 1960 [1]
The characteristic bands that occurred at 2919–2913 cm− 1 and 1385–1383 cm− 1 as well as 1632–1630 cm− 1 (C=O stretching in carboxylate groups) were attributed to the conjugated Betulinic acid (BA) molecules in all BA-loaded MWNT samples [33]
The MWBA nanocomposites were modified by a simple, non-covalent functionalization method with the incorporation of a water-soluble polymer through hydrophobic and electrostatic interfacial bonding
Summary
The concept of nanoscience was first introduced by a Nobel Laureate Caltech physicist, Richard Feynman, in his after-dinner speech entitled “There’s plenty of room at the bottom”, which was later published in 1960 [1]. In this speech, Feynman addressed the significance of maneuvering materials on a sub-microscopic level as individual atoms could behave differently and that they do not scale down in proportion. Betulinic acid (BA) is a natural phyto-compound mainly isolated from the stem bark of white birch and other tree species widely distributed throughout the tropics. The pentacyclic triterpene with a lupane structure and its derivative compounds demonstrate potent cytotoxicity for skin cancer cells [4,5]
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