Prostate cancer targeted multifunctionalized graphene oxide for magnetic resonance imaging and drug delivery

Dendrimers capped with amino groups (DEN) are grafted to graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets for subsequent functionalization of GO with gadolinium diethylene triamine pentaacetate (Gd-DTPA) and prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) monoclonal antibody (mAb). The as-prepared GO-DEN(Gd-DTPA)-mAb exhibits very low cytotoxicity, negligible hemolytic activity, and no perceptible toxic effects in mice. GO-DEN(Gd-DTPA)-mAb can specifically target PSCA over-expressed cancer cells to give a significant T1-weighted contrast enhancement effect. The in vivo magnetic resonance imaging results indicate that GO-DEN(Gd-DTPA)-mAb can be used as a targeted contrast agent for prostate tumor imaging. GO-DEN(Gd-DTPA)-mAb can be efficiently loaded with doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), and the resulting GO-DEN(Gd-DTPA)-mAb/DOX exhibits enhanced cytotoxicity to PC-3 cells due to good targeting performance. By following the PC-3 tumor growth in mouse model after intravenous administration of GO-DEN(Gd-DTPA)-mAb/DOX, it is demonstrated that GO-DEN(Gd-DTPA)-mAb can targetedly deliver anticancer drugs to malignant prostate tumors and inhibit tumor growth.