Aning Ayucitra, Artik Elisa Angkawijaya, Yi-Hsu Ju, Chintya Gunarto, Alchris Woo Go, Suryadi Ismadji
Graphene oxide (GO)-based hydrogel beads were synthesized by physical crosslinking of GO with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to produce a pH-sensitive drug carrier with selective drug-release properties. Four different GO/CMC composite hydrogel beads (GCB) were prepared with GO oxidized at 30°C and 5q0°C with varying GO loading 1 or 5 mg/ml. Physicochemical properties of the synthesized GO and its composite beads were provided in this work. A mild oxidation temperature of 50°C produce GO-50 with satisfactory oxidation degree as shown by intensity ratio of D and G bands (ID/IG) and carbon to oxygen (C/O) ratios of 0.991 and 1.94, respectively. The highest loading capacity of doxorubicin (DOX) was 4.2494 mg/g for GCB synthesized from GO-50 with dispersion concentration of 5 mg/ml (GCB-50.5), corresponding to its abundant oxygen-containing functional groups. The release profile of DOX also confirmed its strong pH-sensitive behavior. The in vitro cytotoxicity tests on 7F2 cells by MTT assay revealed that GCBs have a higher percentage of viability than that of their GO precursors due to the incorporation of CMC into the beads. The prepared hydrogel beads thus can potentially be used as an effective and viable DOX carrier. © 2021 Curtin University and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Chemical Engineering, Widya Mandala Surabaya Catholic University, Surabaya, Indonesia; Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan; Taiwan Building Technology Center, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan