Multifunctional Fe3O4/graphene oxide nanocomposites for magnetic resonance imaging and drug delivery

It is significant interest in developing novel multifunctional nanocarrier with complementary roles in recent years. Magnetic Fe3O4/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites with integrated characteristics of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and controlled drug delivery were prepared by an inverse co-precipitation method. The microstructure and physical properties of Fe3O4/GO nanocomposites were investigated by transmission electron microscope, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyzer and superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. The obtained nanocomposites exhibited superparamagnetic property with the saturation magnetization of 63.3 Am-2 kg(-1) at room temperature. In vitro MRI experiments revealed that Fe3O4/GO nanocomposites possessed an excellent MRI enhancement effect. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) as an anti-tumor model drug was loaded onto the surface of Fe3O4/GO nanocomposites. The drug loading capacity of this nanocarrier was as high as 0.37 mg mg(-1) and the drug release behavior showed pH-dependence. The results suggested that the as-prepared Fe3O4/GO nanocomposites showed great potential as an effective multifunctional nanoplatform for MRI and controlled drug delivery. Crown Copyright (c) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.