title: Assessing biocompatibility of graphene oxide-based nanocarriers: A review.
abstract: Graphene oxide (GO)-based nanocarriers have been frequently studied due to their high drug loading capacity. However, the unsatisfactory biocompatibility of these GO-based nanocarriers hampers their use in clinical settings. This review discusses how each of the physicochemical characteristics (e.g., size, surface area, surface properties, number of layers and particulate states) and surface coatings on GO affect its in vitro and in vivo nanotoxicity. We provide an overview on the effect of GO properties on interactions with cells such as red blood cells, macrophages and cell lines, and experimental organisms including rodents, rabbits and Zebrafish, offering some guidelines for development of safe GO-based nanocarriers. We conclude the paper by outlining the challenges involving GO-based formulations and future perspectives of this research in the biomedical field.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Siaw Fui
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Kiew
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: lvkiew@um.edu.my.
authors.forename: Lik Voon
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Kiew
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Hong Boon
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43 Section 4, Keelung Road, Taipei 10607, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43 Section 4, Keelung Road, Taipei 10607, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Toyoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Imae
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: chungly@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Lip Yong
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D004337:Drug Carriers; D010087:Oxides; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D006108:Graphite
keywords: Chemotherapy; Drug delivery; Graphene oxide; Photodynamic therapy; Tumor