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Graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles have been developed for a variety of biomedical applications as a number of different therapeutic modalities may be added onto them. Here, we report the development and testing of such a multifunctional GO nanoparticle platform that contains a grafted cell-targeting functionality, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and particulates that enable the use of magnetothermal therapy. Specifically, we demonstrate the ability to covalently attach hyaluronic acid (HA) onto GO, and the resultant nanoparticulates (GO-HA) exhibited low inherent toxicity toward two different breast cancer cell lines, BT-474 and MDA-MB-231. Doxorubicin (Dox) and paclitaxel (Ptx) were successfully loaded onto GO-HA with high and moderate efficiencies, respectively. A GO-HA-Dox/Ptx system was significantly better than the GO-Dox/Ptx system at specifically killing CD44-expressing MDA-MB-231 cells but not BT-474 cells that do not express CD44. Further, modified iron oxide nanoparticles were loaded onto the GO-HA-Dox system, enabling the use of magnetic hyperthermia. Hyperthermia in combination with Dox treatment through the GO-HA system showed significantly better performance in reducing viable tumor cell numbers when compared to the individual systems. In summary, we showcase a multifunctional GO nanoparticle system that demonstrates improved efficacy in killing tumor cells.

Metal-induced allergic contact dermatitis, particularly nickel, affects over 10 of the general population. Herein, chitosan-glycerol gel as protective barrier formulation was synthesized by neutralization reaction with an aim to reduce metal-ion diffusion into the skin to prevent allergy. Active functional groups in chitosan-glycerol gel were able to capture allergenic metal ions present in artificial sweat solution. The efficacy of the barrier formulation against nickel-ion penetration was evaluated ex vivo using pig skin. We found that the percutaneous absorption of nickel ion reduced by 98 when chitosan-glycerol gel was used as a barrier formulation. © Copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society.