Lanthanide-modified graphene oxide and nanodiamond materials and their cytotoxicity

Abstract

Integrating lanthanide elements with carbon-based nanomaterials results in the creation of hybrid materials and nanocomposites with unique properties. We report a functionalization approach free of organic solvents for modifying graphene oxide (GO) and nanodiamond (ND) with various lanthanides (La(III), Ce(III), Eu(III), Gd(III), Tb(III) and Ho(III)). The aqueous-phase impregnation with their acetates was followed first by drying at 80 °C and then by heating at 300 °C for 2 h in air conditions. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that after the initial drying, the samples exhibited the presence of larger lanthanide-containing particles, whereas after the heating at 300 °C they became indistinguishable, and thus the lanthanide species became more homogeneously distributed throughout GO and ND. The toxicity, which is commonly associated with the presence of lanthanides, was evaluated in terms of the ability to inhibit the proliferation of COS-7 monkey kidney cell cultures. Most composites demonstrated a dose-dependent toxicity, with significantly lower cytotoxic effects compared to both the thermally treated GO and ND, as well as the pristine GO. The composites functionalized with gadolinium were among the least toxic at the maximum tested concentration (100 µg/ml). The ND-based composites were not cytotoxic at 50 µg/ml, the lowest tested concentration.