title: Multifunctional dendrimer-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes: synthesis, characterization, and in vitro cancer cell targeting and imaging.
abstract: Carbon nanotubes hold great promise for their use as a platform in nanomedicine, especially in drug delivery, medical imaging, and cancer targeting and therapeutics. Herein, we present a facile approach to modifying carbon nanotubes with multifunctional poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers for cancer cell targeting and imaging. In this approach, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FI)- and folic acid (FA)-modified amine-terminated generation 5 (G5) PAMAM dendrimers (G5·NH(2)-FI-FA) were covalently linked to acid-treated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), followed by acetylation of the remaining primary amine groups of the dendrimers. The resulting MWCNT/G5.NHAc-FI-FA composites are water-dispersible, stable, and biocompatible. In vitro flow cytometry and confocal microscopy data show that the formed MWCNT/G5·NHAc-FI-FA composites can specifically target to cancer cells overexpressing high-affinity folic acid receptors. The results of this study suggest that, through modification with multifunctional dendrimers, complex carbon nanotube-based materials can be fabricated, thereby providing many possibilities for various applications in biomedical sensing, diagnosis, and therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Nanobiotechnology Laboratory, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China. xshi@dhu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Xiangyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Su He
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Mingwu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Antwerp
authors.forename: Xisui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Elijah J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: Qingguo
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Walter J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D050091:Dendrimers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D050091:Dendrimers; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon