Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in both men and women. Annually, there are more deaths from lung cancer alone than from colon, prostate and breast cancer combined. Cisplatin is a chemotherapeutic drug used to treat lung cancer cells by destroying rapidly dividing cells by damaging nuclear DNA.
Research published in the American Chemical Society investigates the effect of co-administrating graphene oxide nanoplatelets with cisplatin for the treatment of human lung cancer A459 cells. The presence of oxygen containing functional groups on the surface of graphene oxide increase solubility, dispersibility and biocompatibility. These properties make graphene oxide suitable for use as drug carriers in drug delivery and in live cell imaging. The co-administration of graphene oxide with cisplatin showed a decrease in the percentage of viable cancer cells when compared to cisplatin alone. As the concentration of cisplatin was increased, the effect of graphene oxide co-administration on cell viability was greater. This research highlights the possibility of graphene oxide use extending into the pharmaceutical industry.
This application is just one of many studied by academic groups to utilise the unique properties of graphene oxide. If you have any enquiries about the applications of graphene oxide or how it can improve your existing applications, please get in touch and one of the GOgraphene team will be happy to help.
Langmuir, 2019, 35, 3176−3182