Poly(4-vinyl pyridine)-grafted graphene oxide for drug delivery and antimicrobial applications

Graphene oxide- poly (4-vinyl pyridine) (GO-P4VP) composite prepared by insitu atom transfer radical polymerization was investigated for drug delivery and antibacterial applications. Graphene oxide (GO) was covalently functionalized with poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) by atom transfer radical polymerization for drug delivery and antimicrobial applications. The physiochemical properties, chemical structure, composition and morphology of the P4VP-functionalized GO (GO-P4VP) were studied. Simple physisorption of a cancer drug, camptothecin (CPT), via π - π stacking and/or hydrophobic interactions on the GO-P4VP was tested for drug loading and its release by altering the pH. The GO-P4VP has low cytotoxicity, and the CPT-loaded GO-P4VP exhibited a high potency for killing cancer cells in vitro. Prominent antimicrobial properties against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were also observed. Thus, the GO-P4VP can be utilized as a drug delivery vector with high biocompatibility, solubility and stability in physiological solutions, a suitable payload capacity and excellent bacterial toxicity. Owing to its small size, low cost, large specific area, ready scalability and useful non-covalent interactions, GO-P4VP is a novel material for biomedical, industrial and environmental applications.