Facile synthesis and characterization of multifunctional cobalt-based nanocomposites for targeted chemo-photothermal synergistic cancer therapy

In this study, we develop polyethylene glycol (PEG) modified nanocomposites, which structurally constitute graphene oxide (GO) and cobalt nanoparticles (CoNPs), called as the CoNPs-GO-PEG nanocomposites. These CoNPs-GO-PEG nanocomposites show better outcomes and less side effects when eliminating tumor cells. After a series of comprehensive characterizations, the CoNPs-GO-PEG nanocomposites are proved to possess pleasing targeting ability and unique drug release behavior, indicating that the concentration of the drug delivered by CoNPs-GO-PEG in the tumor site is much higher than that in the normal tissue, and concerning the favorable biocompatibility of CoNPs-GO-PEG nanocomposites, less harm is caused to normal tissue compared to traditional chemotherapy. Furthermore, because of the satisfactory photothermal effect and favorable drug release behavior of the material, the CoNPs-GO-PEG are able to eradicate most of the tumor cells (99%) through synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy in vitro. So far, our study has demonstrated an inspiring potential for the CoNPs-GO-PEG nanocomposites to act as a favorable targeting multifunctional agent in cancer therapy.