Session A2
Paper #6201
Disclaimer — This paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the
University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper is
based on publicly available information and may not be provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this paper is used
for any purpose other than these authors’ partial fulfillment of a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering
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GRAPHENE OXIDE DRUG DELIVERY
Patrick Altmose, paa35@pitt.ed, 10:00 Sanchez, Eric Cecco, emc112, Mahboobin 10:00
Revised Proposal- Graphene-oxide is a revolutionary
compound that can be used as a base to which chemotherapy
drugs are bound to for treatment of cancer patients.
Graphene is a 2-D carbon based structure with unique
chemical and physical properties that allow for exceptional
strength and durability [1]. Graphene is produced through a
processes known as mechanical exfoliation by dissecting a
piece of graphite until only one single layer remains [2]. The
general structure of graphene is comprised of a thin sheet of
carbon atoms forming a hexagonal lattice [3. Grapheneoxide (GO) is a compound comprised of one to three layers of
graphene sheets with enriched oxygen containing groups
ranging from one to two nanometers in thickness.
The sp2 hybridization of the carbon atoms, along with the
enriched oxygen-containing groups, allow GO to have a very
high degree of biocompatibility and provide a surface for
drug loading by one of two processes: chemical conjunction
or physisorption. In some cases, GO will first be conjugated
with another compound (eg. polyethylene glycol) before a
desired drug is mounted onto the structure through noncovalent adsorption via n-n stacking [2]. GO contains many
reactive COOH and OH groups which bond well with many
polymers and naturally occurring and synthetic biomolecules
[3]. The bonding structures that comprise the graphene-oxide
lattice make it a great option for delivering drugs such as
doxorubicin to chemotherapy patients [4].
When tested in vitro, graphene-oxide is able to hold twice
as much medicine than traditional drug delivery methods,
such as liposomes, nanocrystals, and polymeric nanocarriers [5]. By having a material that can deliver crucial
cancer treatment drugs, patients will be subjected to the same
medicines, but the graphene-oxide allows for a high efficacy.
New medicines can be formulated to enhance the impact of
cancer treatment by more effectively utilize graphene-oxide’s
strength and bonding abilities, providing a more efficient and
longer enduring release of medicine as compared to current
drug delivery techniques. Graphene-oxide provides medical
professionals with a new and more effective scaffold to bond
cancer treatments to, allowing doctors to attack cancer and
provide advanced treatments which can lead to a greater rate
of cancer survival.
Unfortunately, due to Van der Waals interactions and the
strong pi-pi bond stacking of Graphene and Graphene Oxide,
agglomerates tend to from as well as re-graphitized graphite.
This is cause for concern because the unique uses of GO only
Univeristy of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 1
2016-1-29
apply when it is in individual sheets. Many of the methods to
treat the GO against agglomeration are toxic to the human
body, or will render the lattice unusable. Work is being done
to research and find a way to apply L-absorbic acid, reducing
sugar or a bovine serum albumin as a reducing agent as well
as the functionalization agent [4].
REFERENCES
[1] J. de La Fuente. (2012). “Graphene Uses and
Applications.”
Graphenea.
(online
article).
http://www.graphenea.com/pages/graphene-usesapplications#.VpbG6pMrK8o
[2] H. Shen. L. Zhang. M. Liu. Z. Zhang (2012). “Biomedical
Applications of Graphene.” Theranostics. (online article).
http://www.thno.org/v02p0283.htm
[3] (2013). “Graphene in Biological Engineering.” Graphene
U.S.
(online
article).
http://grapheneus.com/futureapplications-of-graphene-in-biological-engineering/
[4] K. Liu. J. Zhang, F. Cheng. T. Zheng. C. Wang. J. Zhu.
(2011). “Green and facile synthesis of highly biocompatible
graphene nanosheets and its application for cellular
imagining and drug delivery.” (online article).
http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2011/jm/c1jm1074
9f
[5] J.Shen D. Burgess. (2013). “In Vitro Dissolution Testing
Strategies for Nanoparticulate Drug Delivery Systems:
Recent Developments and Challenges.” (online article).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3779615/
[6] BMES. (February, 2004). “Biomedical Engineering
Society Code of Ethics.” Biomedical Engineering Society.
(Online
Article).
http://bmes.org/files/2004%20Approved%20%20Code%20o
f%20Ethics(2).pdf
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
BMES. (February, 2004). “Biomedical Engineering Society
Code of Ethics.” Biomedical Engineering Society. (Online
Article).
http://bmes.org/files/2004%20Approved%20%20Code%20o
f%20Ethics(2).pdf
The Biomedical Engineering Society Code of Ethics
emphasizes the ethical views of professionals within the
Patrick Altmose
Eric Cecco
biomedical engineering field. Since graphene is a new
engineering technology, the ethics of utilizing the material to
deliver drugs may be in question. Knowing the codes and
cannons of the Biomedical Engineering Society Code of
Ethics ensures that we understand the ethical particulars of
using graphene to deliver medical treatments.
ability to bind drugs to graphene structure. Knowing the
challenges and developments of graphene drug delivery
yields insight to the difficulties of engineering new drugs that
adhere to the graphene scaffold.
H. Shen. L. Zhang. M. Liu. Z. Zhang (2012). “Biomedical
Applications of Graphene.” Theranostics. (online article).
http://www.thno.org/v02p0283.htm
This article is from an online professional research
collection, focusing on in vitro and in vivo diagnostics and
prognostics along with personalized medicine. Theronostics
outlines the current advances in the applications of graphene
in the realm of drug delivery. In addition, the article discusses
the challenges and prospects for future research regarding
graphene oxide drug delivery. Information from this article
will provide us with insight to innovations in the field of drug
delivery and cancer treatment.
J. de La Fuente. (2012). “Graphene Uses and Applications.”
Graphenea.
(online
article).
http://www.graphenea.com/pages/graphene-usesapplications#.VpbG6pMrK8o
This article is from a professional cooperate website that
specializes in the production of graphene for many industries.
One of their products is a graphene drug delivery system. The
article describes the process behind obtaining a graphene
scaffold and adhering drugs to the graphene scaffold for
delivery to the patient. Information provided by this
cooperation will allow us to describe a graphene scaffold and
its capabilities within biomedical engineering.
X. Sun. Z. Liu. K. Welsher. J. Tucker Robinson. A. Goodwin.
S. Zaric. H. Dai. (2008). “Nano-Graphene Oxide for Cellular
Imaging and Drug
Delivery.”
(online
article).
http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/179/art%253A10.10
07%252Fs12274-008-80218.pdf?originUrl=http%3A%2F%2Flink.springer.com%2Farti
cle%2F10.1007%2Fs12274-008-80218&token2=exp=1452723784~acl=%2Fstatic%2Fpdf%2F179
%2Fart%25253A10.1007%25252Fs12274-008-80218.pdf%3ForiginUrl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Flink.spring
er.com%252Farticle%252F10.1007%252Fs12274-00880218*~hmac=e6d4d7dddba00ad8fab62e80a51de7566a37e0305
61b0de1f1a46bb06a294372
This article, from a peer-reviewed journal focused on
nano-research, provides a detailed analysis of optimizing the
size of graphene-oxide nano-sheets to increase the efficacy of
drugs. The article describes how size of the nano-sheet and
concentration of the drug change the effectiveness of drug
delivery. This information will help us understand new
developments to overcome challenges associated with
graphene drug delivery.
(2013). “Graphene in Biological Engineering.” Graphene
U.S.
(online
article).
http://grapheneus.com/futureapplications-of-graphene-in-biological-engineering/
The article is from a general website that provides a
professional outlook and positive feedback from general
public regarding applications of graphene. Particularly in
Bioengineering, graphene has been widely received as an
effective alternative method to delivering drugs such as ones
used for chemotherapy treatments. By knowing the
perception of graphene as viewed by the general public, we
are able to project that engineers will have less resistance from
consumers due to a lack of ethical dilemmas.
K. Liu. J. Zhang, F. Cheng. T. Zheng. C. Wang. J. Zhu.
(2011). “Green and facile synthesis of highly biocompatible
graphene nano-sheets and its application for cellular
imagining and drug delivery.” (online article).
http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2011/jm/c1jm1074
9f
The article is published in a peer reviewed journal
specializing in chemistry and biology. In particular, this
article focuses on drug delivery system which incorporates a
gelatin-like reagent that allows the drug to bind to the
graphene scaffold. Information provided in this article
provides us further insight to the process of a specific drug
delivery system that utilizes a graphene scaffold to more
effectively release drugs inside of a patient’s body.
G. Tiwari. R. Tiwari. B. Sriwastawa. L.Bhati. S. Pandey. P.
Pandey. S. Bannerjee. (2012). “Drug delivery systems: An
updated
review.”
(online
article).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3465154/
This article from the United States Library of Medicine
details different types of graphene drug delivery systems and
problems that arise with each method. Problems with each
method range from increased toxicity of the drugs to cost.
Being able to diagnose problems with many of the graphene
drug delivery systems is integral to learning how engineers
will formulate solutions and make graphene drug delivery a
viable treatment method.
J.Shen D. Burgess. (2013). “In Vitro Dissolution Testing
Strategies for Nanoparticulate Drug Delivery Systems:
Recent Developments and Challenges.” (online article).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3779615/
This article from a United States National Library, details
in vitro dissolution testing on graphene drug delivery systems.
In particular, focusing on the challenge of establishing a
stable graphene scaffold and developments to improve the
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