Multifunctional Dendrimer-Modified Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes: Synthesis, Characterization, and In Vitro Cancer Cell Targeting and Imaging

• Published in: Biomacromolecules 2009-07, Vol.10 (7), p.1744-1750
• Main Authors: Shi, Xiangyang, Wang, Su He, Shen, Mingwu, Antwerp, Mary E, Chen, Xisui, Li, Chang, Petersen, Elijah J, Huang, Qingguo, Weber, Walter J, Baker, James R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Composites; Dendrimers - chemistry; Dendrimers - therapeutic use; Diagnostic Imaging; Drug Delivery Systems - methods; Exact sciences and technology; Forms of application and semi-finished materials; General pharmacology; Humans; Medical sciences; Nanotubes, Carbon - chemistry; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - pathology; Pharmaceutical technology. Pharmaceutical industry; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Polymer industry, paints, wood; Technology of polymers
• ISSN: 1525-7797; 1526-4602
• DOI: 10.1021/bm9001624

Carbon nanotubes hold great promise for their use as a platform in nanomedicine, especially in drug delivery, medical imaging, and cancer targeting and therapeutics. Herein, we present a facile approach to modifying carbon nanotubes with multifunctional poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers for cancer cell targeting and imaging. In this approach, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FI)- and folic acid (FA)-modified amine-terminated generation 5 (G5) PAMAM dendrimers (G5·NH2-FI-FA) were covalently linked to acid-treated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), followed by acetylation of the remaining primary amine groups of the dendrimers. The resulting MWCNT/G5.NHAc-FI-FA composites are water-dispersible, stable, and biocompatible. In vitro flow cytometry and confocal microscopy data show that the formed MWCNT/G5·NHAc-FI-FA composites can specifically target to cancer cells overexpressing high-affinity folic acid receptors. The results of this study suggest that, through modification with multifunctional dendrimers, complex carbon nanotube-based materials can be fabricated, thereby providing many possibilities for various applications in biomedical sensing, diagnosis, and therapeutics.