A simple tailor-made protocol to synthesize graphene-based magnetic nanoparticles
(GbMNPs) for nanomedicine is herein reported. Different GbMNPs with very distinctive
physicochemical and toxicological properties were synthesized by adjusting the number of carbon
precursors in the coating of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. In vitro tests show
the ability to use these GbMNPs as intelligent and on-demand drug nanocarrier systems for
drug delivery, exhibiting the following features: good colloidal stability, good loading capacity
of the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin, high pH-controlled release of the encapsulated drug
(targeting tumour acidic pH conditions), superparamagnetic behaviour and biocompatibility. Due to
their combined properties (i.e., physicochemical, magnetic, and biocompatibility), GbMNPs show
high potentiality to be combined with other biomedical techniques, such as magnetic hyperthermia,
which can represent an enhancement in the treatment of cancer.
R.O.R. acknowledges the Ph.D. scholarship SFRH/BD/97658/2013 granted by FCT. G.D.
acknowledges financing by Slovene Research Agency (J2-6754). The authors also would like to acknowledge the
financial support provided by COST—European Cooperation in Science and Technology, in the form of a short
term scientific mission (STSM) granted by COST Action TD1402: RADIOMAG.
