Nanoscale Evaluation of the Degradation Stability of Black Phosphorus Nanosheets Functionalized with PEG and Glutathione-Stabilized Doxorubicin Drug-Loaded Gold Nanoparticles in Real Functionalized System.

Abstract

Two-dimensional black phosphorus (2D BP) has attracted significant research interest in the field of biomedical applications due to its unique characteristics, including high biocompatibility, impressive drug-loading efficiency, phototherapeutic ability, and minimal side effects. However, its puckered honeycomb lattice structure with lone-pair electrons of BP leads to higher sensitivity and chemical reactivity towards H2O and O2 molecules, resulting in the degradation of the structure with physical and chemical changes. In our study, we synthesize polyethylene glycol (PEG) and glutathione-stabilized doxorubicin drug-assembled Au nanoparticle (Au-GSH-DOX)-functionalized BP nanosheets (BP-PEG@Au-GSH-DOX) with improved degradation stability, biocompatibility, and tumor-targeting ability. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy indicate the nanoscale degradation behavior of synthesized nanoconjugates in three different environmental exposure conditions, and the results demonstrate the remarkable nanoscale stability of BP-PEG@Au-GSH-DOX against the degradation of BP, which provides significant interest in employing 2D BP-based nanotherapeutic agents for tumor-targeted cancer phototherapy.