Functionalized Ultrasmall Fluorinated Graphene with High NIR Absorbance for Controlled Delivery of Mixed Anticancer Drugs

Fluorinated graphene (FG) possess distinctively novel properties different from graphene and is suitable for many biomedical applications. However, the hydrophobic nature and inert properties of FG limit its further application as a biological material. Here we show the preparation of nano-sized FG (ca. 60nm) that exhibits high NIR absorbance for photothermal therapy. In order to make it stable in physiological solutions, the FG is enriched with oxygen and followed by covalent binding with chitosan as a novel pH-responsive nanocarrier. Furthermore, controlled loading of two anticancer drugs, doxorubicin (DOX) and camptothecin (CPT) has been realized and the functionalized ultrasmall FG shows remarkably high cytotoxicity toward Hela cancer cells compared to that loaded with either CPT or DOX only. This work established nano-sized FG as a novel photothermal agent due to its small size and can be used a stimulus-responsive nanocarrier for mixed drug delivery and combined therapy.