Polyampholyte-grafted single walled carbon nanotubes prepared via a green process for anticancer drug delivery application

Abstract

We report a novel process for surface modified single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as drug nanocarriers by using facile and green synthetic methods. Firstly, polyampholytic alternating polymers having furfuryl amine and 3-(dimethylamino)-1-propylamine as functional groups were prepared via one-pot thiol-ene chemistry in sustainable conditions. The obtained polymers were then used to a direct functionalization onto the surface of SWCNTs through Diels-Alder click reaction conducted in aqueous media under ultrasonication. The resulting hybrid was characterized by 1H NMR, FT-IR, TGA and UV–vis measurements. The hybrid improved the drug loading content up to 150 wt%, indicating that they are potential doxorubicin (DOX) delivery nano-vehicles. Furthermore, the in-vitro drug release profiles showed that there was a burst release of DOX at pH 5.5 under an acidic condition in microenvironment of tumor cells, in contrast with a lower release rate at pH 7.4 in the physiological condition. Cell viability assays demonstrated the low cytotoxicity against the normal HEK293 cell of SWCNT hybrids, while they exhibited a high cytotoxic activity towards HeLa cancer cells. These evidences revealed the promising SWCNT-based drug carrier for tumor-targeting chemotherapy release in the cancer therapy.