Page 75 - GTM-3-3

Global Translational Medicine

MINI-REVIEW
Unraveling the role of graphene oxide in cancer

drug delivery

1,2
Subhadeep Das * , Sudipta Mondal 3 , Binayok Sharma 4 , and
Rajashree Nayak 5
1 Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
2 Purdue University Institute for Cancer Research, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United
States of America
3 School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of
America
4 Department of Animal Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
5 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

The advancements in nanotechnology have opened up novel possibilities for drug
delivery in cancer treatment. Among these, carbon-based nanomaterials have
shown significant promise due to their capacity to carry multiple anticancer drugs. In
particular, graphene oxide (GO) and its derivatives have been extensively studied and
utilized as effective carriers for cancer drug delivery, due to their high drug-loading
capability, large surface area, and ease of functionalization. This mini-review aims to
provide recent evidence highlighting the important role of GO and its derivatives in
cancer diagnosis and therapy.

*Corresponding author: Keywords: Graphene oxide; Reduced graphene oxide; Cancer drug delivery; Cancer
Subhadeep Das
(das193@purdue.edu) treatment
Citation: Das S, Mondal S,
Sharma B, Nayak R. Unraveling the
role of graphene oxide in cancer
drug delivery. Global Transl Med. 1. Introduction
2024:3(3):4602.
doi: 10.36922/gtm.4602 Cancer remains a major global health burden in the 21 century, accounting for 16.8%
st
Received: August 20, 2024 of all deaths and 22.8% of deaths caused by non-communicable diseases it ranks among
Accepted: September 10, 2024 the top three causes of death in 177 of 183 countries, contributing to 30.3% of premature
Published Online: September 24, deaths from non-communicable diseases in individuals aged 30 – 69. According to the
1
2024 American Cancer Society’s 2024 Cancer Statistics, more than 2 million individuals in the
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). United States are expected to be diagnosed with cancer this year. Despite the progress
2
This is an Open-Access article made in treatment modalities, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery,
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution significant challenges persist with conventional therapies, including drug resistance,
License, permitting distribution, non-specific targeting, and severe systemic side effects. These challenges underscore
3
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is the critical need for more effective, targeted therapeutic strategies that not only improve
properly cited. patient outcomes but also minimize harmful side effects. 4
Publisher’s Note: AccScience In recent years, nanotechnology has emerged as a powerful tool in the fight against
Publishing remains neutral with cancer, offering innovative solutions to overcome the limitations of traditional therapies.
5
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Among the nanomaterials explored, graphene oxide (GO) and its derivative, reduced
6
affiliations. GO (rGO), have garnered substantial attention. These two-dimensional carbon-
Volume 3 Issue 3 (2024) 1 doi: 10.36922/gtm.4602