In vivo evaluation of the combination effect of near- infrared laser and PLGA polymer containing 5- fluorouracil – loaded Nano-graphene oxide

Introduction: Recently, nanographene oxide (NGO) is proven to be as a great candidate for drug delivery, and phototherapies cancer. Photothermal sensitivity of NGO and its optical absorption in the NIR region lead to photothermal ablation of tumors. Nevertheless, the major drawback of GO is its toxicity in biological systems, To overcome this problem, nanoscale GO prepare with biocompatible coating such as poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) was loaded onto the biodegradable polymers or graphene sheets to extend its lifetime. The GO–super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (GO–SPION) composite has attracted extensive attention because of its highly controlled optical and magnetic properties. In this content, GO- SPION was modified with a biocompatible polymer, PLGA, and are used as the carrier for loading and delivery of 5-FU with the aim to achieve highly efficient cancer chemotherapy and photothermal therapy with minimal side effects in vivo applications. Materials and Methods: Mouse colon cancer CT26 cells (3 × 106) in a 100 μL serum-free RMPI-1640 medium were injected subcutaneous onto the right flank of BALB /c mouse. The mice were randomly divided into nine treatment groups of five mice. And after treatment, tumor sizes were measured in different groups. Results: Our results showed that single injection of NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu, magnetic drug delivery and 808 nm laser irradiation (0.8 W/cm2, 3 min), effectively suppress the growth of tumors compared with 5-fluorouracil alone (P < 0.01). Finally, hyperthermia in combined with chemotherapy have tumor growth inhibition about 87.92%. Conclusion: Taken together, our results indicate that 5-FU loaded NGO-SPION-PLGA nanoparticles had good anti-tumor activity against colon cancer xenografts.