Easy on-demand self-assembly of lateral nanodimensional hybrid graphene oxide flakes for near-infrared-induced chemothermal therapy

Near-infrared (NIR)-induced chemothermal doxorubicin (DOX) release for anticancer activity was demonstrated using DOX-incorporated fully lateral nanodimensional graphene oxide (nGO) flakes layered with chitosan-polyethylene glycol (PEG) conjugate (nGO@DOX-cPEG) from a single-pass gas-phase self-assembly. Unlike most previously reported graphene oxide-based drug carriers, the proposed processing method introduced a fully nanoscale (both in lateral dimension and thickness) configuration without multistep wet physicochemical processes that enhance the drug-loading capacity and NIR-induced heat generation resulting from the increased surface area. The accumulation of nGO@DOX-cPEG flakes in prostate cancer cells enhanced apoptotic phenomena via the combined effects of DOX release and heat generation upon NIR irradiation. The combined anticancer effects were verified through in vivo assessment with better safety profiles than free DOX. The proposed strategy warrants continuous assembly of multimodal nanocarriers for the efficient treatment of prostate cancers and may be a promising candidate for advanced drug delivery systems.