Synthesis and properties of novel water-soluble fullerene-glycine derivatives as new materials for cancer therapy

Novel water-soluble fullerene-glycine derivatives were synthesized by means of simple organic chemistry. They are completely soluble in water, yielding a clear brown solution. The products were characterized by fourier transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The assembly behavior of water-soluble fullerene-glycine derivatives was investigated by SEM. The results show that the fullerene-glycine derivatives create morphology that is sphere-like. The cytotoxicity to cancer cell lines of the fullerene- glycine derivatives was evaluated by MTT (3-(4,5dimethylthiazol- 2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) and flow cytometry. The results show that fullerene-glycine derivatives exhibit mortality and apoptosis of the cells which increased with the increase of fullerene-glycine derivative concentration. The cytotoxicity mechanism of fullereneglycine derivatives was investigated for the first time. Graphical Abstract Novel water-soluble fullerene-glycine derivatives were synthesized by means of simple organic chemistry. The products were characterized by FTIR, UV-Vis, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, TGA, and SEM. The bioactivities of fullerene-glycine derivative materials have been tested, and the results show that compared with the fullerene complex, the fullerene-glycine derivative materials exhibit mortality and apoptosis of the cells which increased with the increase of fullerene-glycine derivative concentration. SEM images showed the macrostructure of fullerene-glycine derivative materials was spheres.