Enhanced drug efficiency of doped ZnO-GO (graphene oxide) nanocomposites, a new gateway in drug delivery systems (DDSs)

Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were doped to zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles using a facile chemical deposition method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the presence of hexagonal structure and increased peaks broadening upon doping. Undoped and ZnO doped GO sheets showed morphology like nanoparticles, nanorods and flakes were observed under transmission and field emission electron microscopies respectively. An increase in absorption was observed in absorption spectra upon doping recorded via UV-visible spectroscopy. The hydrogen bonding between functional groups of GO and ZnO is responsible for limiting maximum drug loading efficiency. GO doped ZnO has higher drug loading efficiency of about 89% compared to ZnO (82%) and this trend reverse in drug releasing process. This study will provide an efficient design of the drug delivery system for dissolution enhancement according to the required drug release.